Five cases of heredopathia atactica polyneuritiformis (HAP--Refsum's disease) were treated by serial plasma exchanges. In all patients a reduction in calorie intake and body weight had been associated with a rise in plasma phytanic acid, followed by an exacerbation of the ataxia and neuropathy. Lowering the plasma phytanic acid by plasma exchange produced a rapid clinical improvement. The main ...

Hemophilia associations should be recommended for educational programs for patients and caregivers. Hematologists and nongovernmental organizations can work together for lifelong educational programs. Finally, we recommend holding patient workshops twice a year as well as publishing simple books or brochures in each local language to improve the knowledge and therefore the quality of life of th...

We report a case of 52-year-old female with steroid-unresponsive Hashimoto's encephalopathy. She underwent plasma exchange that resulted in marked clinical improvement.

The clinical effects of plasma exchange and high dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) were evaluated in a 41 year old woman with Isaacs' syndrome. After double filtration plasma exchange, symptoms almost disappeared for two to three weeks and the recorded continuous muscle action potentials were considerably decreased. Symptoms recurred within a few months. On the other hand, IVIg worsened th...

All patients received the first plasma exchange employing fresh frozen plasma, and CPP was used in the following procedures. PE was performed daily until normalization of the platelet count and serum LDH levels. Two patients (B.S. and P.M.L.) died 8 and 5 days, respectively, after beginning plasma exchange, and the addition of highdose iv immunoglobulins in one case did not produce any effect. ...

The effects of plasma exchange using a low viscosity plasma substitute on blood viscosity and cerebral blood flow were investigated in eight subjects with normal cerebral vasculature. Plasma exchange resulted in significant reductions in plasma viscosity, whole blood viscosity, globulin and fibrinogen concentration without affecting packed cell volume. The reduction in whole blood viscosity was...

Extracorporeal "blood purification," mainly in the form of hemodialysis has been a major portion of the clinical activity of many nephrologists for the past 5 decades. A possibly older procedure, therapeutic plasma exchange, separates and then removes plasma as a method of removing pathogenic material from the patient. In contrast to hemodialysis, therapeutic plasma exchange preferentially remo...

Extracorporeal “blood purification,” mainly in the form of hemodialysis has been a major portion of the clinical activity of many nephrologists for the past 5 decades. A possibly older procedure, therapeutic plasma exchange, separates and then removes plasma as a method of removing pathogenic material from the patient. In contrast to hemodialysis, therapeutic plasma exchange preferentially remo...