Neurológia pre prax 1/2018

Immunoadsorption in treating neurological diseases

In recent years, immunoadsorption has become an increasingly recognized alternative to therapeutic plasmapheresis used to treat neurological diseases, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, myasthenia gravis, neuromyelitis optica and its spectrum disorders, multiple sclerosis, or autoimmune encephalitides. In contrast to therapeutic plasmapheresis that requires plasma exchange with albumin or fresh-frozen plasma, immunoadsorption is a technique allowing selective removal of humoral factors, primarily of pathological autoantibodies, with a high-affinity adsorbent. This therapeutic method has fewer adverse effects when compared with plasmapheresis. It can significantly improve the treatment and prognosis of patients with autoimmune neurological disorders.

Keywords: therapeutic plasma exchange, immunoadsorption, autoantibodies