title: Successful treatment of ulcerative colitis with leukocytapheresis using non-woven polyester filter.
abstract: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the rectum and colon. Although the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis is not fully elucidated, cell-mediated immunity plays an important role in disease pathogenesis. Leukocytapheresis is a newly emerging therapy to eliminate activated leukocyte from systemic circulation. We have studied the effects of leukocytapheresis on patients with ulcerative colitis who had failed to respond to conventional therapy. A total of 51 patients with ulcerative colitis were treated with apheresis using a non-woven polyester fiber filter (Finecell, Asahi Medical Co.,Tokyo, Japan) originally developed as a microcoagulation elimination filter for massive transfusion. Of the 51 patients, 33 (64.7%) achieved clinical remission manifested by clinical activity and colonoscopic findings without any adverse effects. This result suggested that leukocytapheresis using Finecell might serve as an alternative therapy for ulcerative colitis as other leukocytapheresis using centrifugation or column.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Sapporo Hokuyu Hospital, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawamura
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horie
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohizumi
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tamaki
authors.forename: Kazutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kukita
authors.forename: Jun-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meguro
authors.forename: Motoki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yonekawa
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawamura
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007937:Leukapheresis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008851:Micropore Filters; D008875:Middle Aged; D011091:Polyesters; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters