Suggested Protocol for a One-Year Trial of Therapeutic Plasma Exchange for Treating Patients with Limited Systemic Sclerosis Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide background information for physicians and patients who have reviewed the research literature on the use of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) to treat systemic sclerosis (SSc) and made the determination that this may be an appropriate treatment option. While this is not intended to be a formal research proposal, it is hoped that by following a standardized protocol for administering TPE, as well as including a basic set of objective measures during the trial of TPE, we may be able to glean important information that can be used as the basis for future well-designed clinical trials of TPE for treating patients with SSc.