Blood Transfusion Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Blood Transfusion, including details on blood donation, blood types, leukemia.

Therapeutic apheresis in neurology critical care.

Natarajan N, Weinstein R

Department of Medicine, Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02135, USA.

Therapeutic apheresis has been widely accepted in the treatment of neurological disorders that are understood to be mediated by humoral and/or cellular immunity. The clinical presumption is that well-established and/or unknown insults cause damage to nerves or their myelin sheaths. The rationale for apheresis treatments for these neurological disorders relates to removal of offending immune (or other) mediators, thus blunting the attack and permitting recovery of nerve and/or myelin. This review will concentrate on the role of therapeutic apheresis, in particular therapeutic plasma exchange, in neurological disorders that may frequently be seen by intensivists.

Published 2 August 2005 in J Intensive Care Med, 20(4): 212-25.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Blood Transfusion Research Today. All Rights Reserved.