Jim Hoffman: Extracorporeal Blood Purification as an Alternative to IVIG and Transfusion in Autoimmune Disease
Jim Hoffman, Former Technical Advisor at Cygnus Technologies, LLC, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Due to limited supplies of IVIG, plasma, and whole blood for infusions/transfusions and their expense, we should also be investigating greater use of extracorporeal blood purification therapies that allow patients to keep their own blood, first, minus disease-promoting factors, such as elevated circulating NETs and help them remove extracellular chromatin released by other cell types, as an alternative therapy for autoimmune disorders.
Especially in cases like these, where these more invasive, secondary treatments are suspected and likely to be effective.
For more on this possibility, see my recent post, where an underlying cancer co-morbidity, ovarian cancer, likely triggered severe autoimmune anti-NMDR encephalitis in a young woman, a disease process very likely exacerbated by NETosis dysregulation based on the studies of Qiao et. al.
Many lupus patients suffer from severe ocular disorders (For a recent review, Musa et al 2024) that could also likely benefit from the expanded use of this NET removal maintenace therapy that helps resolve immunothrombotic, severe vasculitic lupus flares, and based on other case study treatments, suggest it could also improve many similar lupus-like complications and genetically predisposed autoimmune conditions, like Sjögren’s syndrome, an ocular disorder that often requires escalated doses of high-dose steroids and when this fails, traditional secondary or tertiary treatments, as mentioned above to include IVIG, plasma exchange and whole blood transfusion.
Why not try starting with NET removal therapy when hydroxchloroquine, low-dose steroids, and other drugs are clearly ineffective in halting progression and may be causing harm?
Erin Nicole’s battle with sudden-onset severe Anti-NMDR Encephalitis.
Cancer and pathogens are known to trigger severe neurodegenerative autoimmune ocular disease in genetically predisposed individuals.
Dysregulated NETosis is very likely contributing to this and should be investigated more directly to provide irrefutable evidence, since NETosis dysregulation worsens sepsis, cancer, and autoimmune disease progression.
What better way to investigate this possibility than with this treatment that specifically targets NET/extracellular chromatin removal?”
Jan Hartmann, Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at Haemonetics, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Human plasma is such an extraordinarily versatile therapeutic agent.
Just weeks after giving birth, this new mother began losing her vision, first one eye, then the other, fearing she might never see her child grow up.
A plasma exchange using donated plasma removed harmful antibodies and helped restore her sight. She was treated close to home and able to stay by her baby’s side.
This is the real-world impact of plasma donation. Thank you to the donors and care teams who make outcomes like this possible.”
Title 1: Unveiling Ocular Manifestations in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: Mutali Musa, Ekele Chukwuyem, Oluwasola Michael Ojo, Efioshiomoshi Kings Topah, Leopoldo Spadea, Carlo Salati, Caterina Gagliano, Marco Zeppieri
Read the Full Article on Journal of Clinical Medicine
Title 2: Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in Ocular Diseases: An Update
Authors: Jia Zeng, Min Wu, Yamei Zhou, Manhui Zhu, Xiaojuan Liu
Read the Full Article on Biomolecules
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