Leukocyte apheresis

Leukocyte apheresis is a medical device therapy (selective granulocyte/monocyte adsorptive {GMA} apheresis; GMDN^[1] code: 47306) for the treatment of inflammation of the colon. It works by removing from the blood a group of white blood cells called activated leukocytes^[2] that play a key role in the inflammatory stages of ulcerative colitis (UC).^[3] Selectively reducing these cells in the blood helps to reduce inflammation in the colon.^[4] Leukocyte apheresis can help UC patients with chronic, grumbling disease who are either unsuitable for, intolerant of, or failing on medicines described above.^[5]

References

1. "Global Medical Device Network".
2. Hanai H.; et al. (January 2011). "The mode of actions of the Adacolumn therapeutic leucocytapheresis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a concise review". Clinical & Experimental Immunology (163(1) ed.): 50–58.
3. Nikolaus S., Schreiber S.; et al. (April 1998). "Increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by circulating polymorphonuclear neutrophils and regulation by interleukin 10 during intestinal inflammation". Gut (42(4) ed.): 470–476.
4. Muratov V.; et al. (2008). "Decreased numbers of FoxP3-positive and TLR-2-positive cells in intestinal mucosa are associated with improvement in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease following selective leukocyte apheresis.". Journal of Gastroenterology (43): 277–282.
5. Dignass A.; et al. (2015). "P511 Efficacy and safety of granulocyte/monocyte adsorptive apheresis in steroid-dependent Active Ulcerative Colitis with insufficient response or intolerance to immunosuppressants and/or biological therapies (the ART trial): Results at 24 and 48 weeks". ecco-ibd.eu. The European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO).