New applications of plasma therapies improve patients’ lives

Plasma therapies are in an exciting era of innovation, with new applications emerging across multiple medical fields. Three examples include autoimmune psychosis, eye health, and regenerative bone growth.

A type of plasma therapy called therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) has been used to treat multiple autoimmune diseases and shows promise in helping individuals living with autoimmune psychosis. Autoimmune psychosis is a type of autoimmune encephalitis with symptoms that include delusions, hallucinations, fear, paranoia, anxiety, panic attacks, agitation, and difficulty sleeping. Autoimmune encephalitis is a group of conditions where a person’s immune system attacks their brain, causing inflammation. 

During TPE, a needle is inserted into an individual's vein and blood is removed. The plasma is then separated from other blood components through plasmapheresis. The individual’s plasma is replaced with healthy, donated plasma and returned through an IV with the patient’s other blood components. As in the treatment of other autoimmune conditions, TPE for autoimmune psychosis helps remove antibodies that are attacking the persons body. These antibodies are found in a person's plasma and contribute to their autoimmune encephalitis. 

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has also been used to treat a variety of diseases for the past 30+ years. PRP is made from a person's own plasma. Blood is removed from the patient and spun down to separate out the plasma, the rest of the blood components are discarded and the remaining plasma is then custom made into the medication that the individual will ultimately use. Two interesting newer applications include PRP eye drops to treat dry eye syndrome, and using PRP to encourage bone growth.

Specifically, in the realm of eye health, PRP eye drops are offering hope for patients with dry eye syndrome which is a type of ocular surface disease (OSD) who don’t respond to conventional treatments. OSD causes irritation, watering, redness, and sensitivity of the eye. PRP contains a concentrated cocktail of growth factors and platelet-derived substances. It harnesses the body's natural healing mechanisms to address these challenging conditions of the eye. The biological composition of PRP eye drops mimic natural tears. The essential growth factors, vitamins, and cytokines in the PRP eye drops help heal the damaged eye, which has been transformational for patients who have not found relief from any other treatment. 

Another exciting frontier for PRP lies within the field of regenerative medicine. PRP accelerates healing in orthopedic injuries and soft tissue damage for some time now. The application of PRP has extended to chronic wounds, musculoskeletal disorders, and even spinal conditions, offering hope for tissue repair and regeneration. A newer application in this field is in the world of bone growth. Non union fractures, or a fracture that persists at 9 months post-injury, pose a challenge for orthopedic surgeons. In 2019, the global incidence of bone fractures was 178 million cases so these clinicians are facing this debilitating health concern regularly and PRP has become a pivotal piece of the process in healing the bone. Because PRP contains four to five times the concentration of platelets compared to whole blood, and platelets make the growth factors bones need to heal, this new application is showing great promise. Similar to the PRP eye drops, the process of making PRP therapies for accelerated bone growth involves extracting a patient's blood, concentrating the plasma and platelets, and then injecting this platelet-rich solution directly into the area of injury. This approach harnesses and amplifies the body's natural healing processes, supporting the three phases of healing: lowering inflammation, increasing cell division, and ultimately repairing the bone. 

TPE for autoimmune psychosis and PRP for OSD and bone growth are just a few examples of how plasma-derived therapies are emerging as a cornerstone of 21st-century medicine, promising to improve treatment approaches and outcomes for countless patients. As we delve deeper into understanding the therapeutic potential of plasma components, we can anticipate even more new applications to emerge, solidifying the role of these therapies in shaping the future of healthcare.