| Theme | Apheresis | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Apheresis for skin diseases | |
| Publish Date | 1999/06 | |
| Author | Takashi Harada | Renal Care Unit, Nagasaki University Hospital |
| Author | Masaharu Nishikido | Renal Care Unit, Nagasaki University Hospital |
| Author | Shigeru Kohno | Renal Care Unit, Nagasaki University Hospital |
| Author | Hakushi Ishikawa | Dermatology, Nagasaki University, Faculty of Medicine |
| Author | Akiko Kobayashi | Dermatology, Nagasaki University, Faculty of Medicine |
| Author | Yukiko Nakashima | Dermatology, Nagasaki University, Faculty of Medicine |
| Author | Kenji Iwata | Dermatology, Nagasaki University, Faculty of Medicine |
| Author | Ichiro Katayama | Dermatology, Nagasaki University, Faculty of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] | The plasmapheresis is an effective treatment for autoimmune bullous diseases of the skin such as pemphigus vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid. The pathogenesis of such skin diseases are autoantibodies directed against the intercellular cement surface and the basement membrane zone respectively. As these autoantibodies are mainly IgG class of immunoglobulin, the plasmapheresis is used for a removal of such circulating autoanti-bodies from the blood. The methods of plasmapheresis are a single plasma exchange, a double membrane filtration plasma exchange using separation by second filter and an immunoadsorption using a ligand of tryptophane and dextran sulfate. The indication for plasmapheresis in autoimmune skin disease should be in the case of drug resistance, difficulty of using drugs and severe skin lesion. |
|