1. Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Encephalitis: a Comparative Study of Indication, Efficacy and Safety
- Author
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Anush Karamyan, J Sellner, Gayane Harutyunyan, Tobias Moser, Eugen Trinka, Helmut F. Novak, Ferdinand Otto, V Chroust, Carola Bacher, and Markus Leitinger
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Central nervous system ,medicine.disease_cause ,multiple sclerosis ,Tertiary care ,Article ,lcsh:RC321-571 ,Autoimmunity ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Internal medicine ,Glioma ,plasma exchange ,medicine ,lcsh:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,030304 developmental biology ,Autoimmune encephalitis ,0303 health sciences ,business.industry ,General Neuroscience ,Multiple sclerosis ,autoimmunity ,medicine.disease ,autoimmune encephalitis ,clinical outcomes ,immunotherapeutics ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders ,Therapeutic plasma exchange ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a well-established method of treatment for steroid-refractory relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). Little is known about indications and clinical responses to TPE in autoimmune encephalitis and other immune-mediated disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with immune-mediated disorders of the CNS undergoing TPE at our tertiary care center between 2003 and 2015. The response to TPE within a 3- to 6-month follow-up was scored with an established rating system. We identified 40 patients including 21 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS, 52.5%), 12 with autoimmune encephalitis (AE, 30%), and 7 with other immune-mediated CNS disorders (17.5%). Among patients with AE, eight patients had definite AE (Immunolobulin G for N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor n = 4, Leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1 n = 2, Ma 2 n = 1, and Alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid n = 1). Intravenous immunoglobulins had been given prior to TPE in all but one patient with AE, and indications were dominated by acute psychosis and epileptic seizures. While TPE has a distinct place in the treatment sequence of different immune-mediated CNS disorders, we found consistent efficacy and safety. Further research should be directed toward alternative management strategies in non-responders.
- Published
- 2019
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