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Part 1: Rationale and Treatment of Inflammatory Central Nervous System Disorders

Helmar C. Lehmann, MD; Hans-Peter Hartung, MD; Gerd R. Hetzel, MD; Olaf Stüve, MD; Bernd C. Kieseier, MD

Arch Neurol. 2006;63:930-935.

Plasma exchange is a well-established therapeutic procedure commonly used in many neurological disorders of autoimmune etiology. It is thought that the beneficial effects of plasma exchange occur through the elimination of pathognomonic inflammatory mediators, including autoantibodies, complement components, and cytokines. In various neurological disorders, randomized controlled studies have demonstrated the efficacy of plasma exchange (eg, in Guillain-Barré syndrome and other forms of immune neuropathies). Although widely used, the potential benefit of plasma exchange in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, and Lambert-Eaton syndrome is less clear.

Author Affiliations: Departments of Neurology (Drs Lehmann, Hartung, and Kieseier) and Nephrology (Dr Hetzel), Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; and Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (Dr Stüve).

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