Pulsed Plasma Exchange (PPE) Patient 2: 6-Year Update
At this point, there are an estimated two dozen patients world-wide on my pulsed therapeutic plasma exchange (PPE) protocol. As my research fellowship at the Univ. of Wisconsin ended a couple of years ago and I am now retired, I am no longer able to continue with my research efforts to better understand the mechanisms of action behind this experimental "off-label" use of a standard treatment (therapeutic plasma exchange/TPE) as a treatment for systemic sclerosis. [...]
Talking to Your Doctor About Trying Pulsed Plasma Exchange? Invite a Hematologist into the Discussion
As more and more patients are now starting trials of pulsed therapeutic plasma exchange (PPE) as an experimental treatment for their diagnosed systemic scleroderma (SSc), I have noticed that in several recent cases, a hematologist has been added to the care team. The presence of a hematologist allows the rheumatologist who is typically heading the care team to feel more comfortable trying PPE. The reason is simple: therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a routine treatment [...]
Pulsed Plasma Exchange (PPE) treatments must be continued indefinitely
Currently, there are about a dozen systemic sclerosis patients on the pulsed plasma exchange (PPE) protocol described in this document: http://sclerodermainfo.org/pdf/TPE-Guidelines-US.pdf. Some have been on the protocol for years and others are just starting. I presented a research poster on four long-term patients with limited systemic sclerosis at a medical conference this past May. That is discussed in another post. The purpose of this post is to document that PPE, like all treatment approaches used [...]
The Effects of Pulsed Therapeutic Plasma Exchange on Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Limited Systemic Sclerosis: A Case Series
I am currently (5/6/2022) at the American Society for Apheresis (ASFA) annual meeting in Philadelphia presenting a poster titled "The Effects of Pulsed Therapeutic Plasma Exchange on Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Limited Systemic Sclerosis: A Case Series" [1]. (The abstract of the poster is at the end of this post.) Six years ago, at this same conference, I presented an early version of the comprehensive review on the use of therapeutic plasma exchange as a treatment [...]