Double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP), an advanced blood-cleaning procedure, is equally effective as high-dose corticosteroids for treating acute attacks associated with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), but comes with fewer side effects, according to a new study from China. DFPP selectively removes disease-driving self-reactive antibodies from the bloodstream while retaining…
Plasma exchange (Plasmapheresis)
Combining blood-cleaning therapies such as plasma exchange or immunoadsorption with standard steroid treatment can improve recovery outcomes in patients having an attack of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), a study that reported no significant safety concerns shows. The study, “Efficacy and safety of apheresis therapy in AQP4 antibody‐positive…
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” as they say. Along those lines, my first experience with plasmapheresis for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) was both intense and helpful. In May, I suffered an optic neuritis attack in my left eye. After five days of intravenous…
About 1 in 10 people who are hospitalized for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, or about one month after discharge, a U.S. study found. Older patients — specifically those in the age range of 65 to 74 — and individuals who…
Older age, a poor response to steroids, and the need for a blood-cleaning procedure known as plasma exchange all were found to increase the likelihood of a diagnosis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) among people experiencing a first optic neuritis attack, a small study shows. These findings led…
Plasma exchange, a blood-cleaning procedure, is safe and helps to ease symptoms in elderly people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), despite the presence of other health conditions. That finding is from a Chinese study that assessed the safety and efficacy of plasma exchange in elderly NMOSD patients (older…
Undergoing plasma exchange, a blood-cleaning procedure, within 10 days after a relapse of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) may help ease symptoms in children positive for antibodies against AQP4 and who do not respond well to corticosteroids. That’s according to a small study that assessed the safety and efficacy…
A young woman had a rebound of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) toward the end of her pregnancy, for which she underwent plasma exchange and took steroids, according to a report from researchers in the U.S. Because treatment with plasma exchange and steroids did not work well enough, the…
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