D J Gracie ¹, A C Ford Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol. 2012 Jun;58(2):87-99.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, the exact etiology of which remains unknown. The prevalence in the general population is around 0.25%, and the condition represents a considerable financial burden to the health service. The natural history of the condition is one of periods of remission, punctuated by relapses of disease activity. Medical therapy aims to minimise the frequency of these relapses, as well as the need for glucocorticosteroids, which have potentially deleterious effects. In those with acute severe disease, however, glucocorticosteroids are probably effective, as are infliximab and cyclosporine. In those with a mild to moderate flare of disease activity, oral or topical 5-ASAs, or in combination, are more effective than placebo for induction of remission. Doses of oral 5-ASAs in excess of 2g/day appear to lead to higher likelihood of successful remission. Once remission has been achieved, there is evidence to support the use of oral or topical 5-ASAs, and azathioprine to prevent relapse of disease activity. Again, doses of 5-ASA in excess of 2g/day are associated with a lower risk of relapse. Individuals with chronic relapsing and remitting disease activity are difficult to manage, and may require colectomy with ileal pouch anal anastamosis. Granulocyte/monocyte adsorptive apheresis could be of benefit in this setting, but most trials have been conducted in the Far East, so the efficacy in Western UC patients is unclear.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22643593/

https://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/gastroenterology/article.php?cod=R08Y2012N02A0087

Premchand P, Ford L, Venkama DPWE-236 White cell aphaeresis (WCA) with adacolumn is effective in selected cases of chronic refractory colitis with high histological activityGut 2012;61:A394.

Introduction Treatment options for patients with chronic refractory colitis are limited. White cell aphaeresis (WCA) is effective in inducing clinical remission in chronic refractory colitis in patients with a strong inflammatory burden at baseline and histologically active disease. Previous multinational sham controlled trials have demonstrated significant improvement when patients with high histological activity (modified Rileys score) are selected for treatment. Methods A prospective study was conducted in 30 patients with severe steroid -dependent or steroid -refractory ulcerative colitis referred for WCA. Inclusion criteria were (i) High disease activity score (partial Mayo score ≥6) (ii) Intractable symptoms despite treatment with steroids and/or immunosuppressants (iii) Severe disease at endoscopy and histologically. The aim was to induce clinical and IBD-Q remission at 12 weeks. A Mayo score ≤3 defined clinical remission. The 32 item Inflammatory Bowel Disease questionnaire (IBD-Q) was used to assess quality of life prior to treatment and at 12 weeks. Results Patient Characteristics: Prior to treatment 28 patients (93.3%) were prescribed 5-ASA compounds. 12 patients (40%) were prescribed topical therapies (5-ASA enemas or suppositories/steroids enemas). 27 patients (90%) were steroid dependent (Prednisolone mean dose 21.1 mg, median 20 mg). Three patients (10%) were steroid refractory (no response to high dose oral steroids). 13 patients (43.3%) were prescribed Azathioprine of the remainder all had documented intolerance or a contraindication. One patient (3.3%) was prescribed six Mercaptopurine. Five patients had failed Infliximab (16.6%) and in one patient (3.3%) it was contraindicated. 1 patient (3.3%) had failed intramuscular Methotrexate. Outcomes: At week 12 clinical remission (Mayo score ≤3) was achieved in 22 patients (73.3%), 18 patients (60%) were no longer prescribed oral steroids. IBD-Q remission at week 12 was achieved in 19 patients (63.3%). Of the remainder, five patients (16.6%) achieved an IBD-Q response. Of eight patients (26.6%) who failed to achieve clinical remission at 12 weeks, one achieved delayed remission at 20 weeks. Of the remaining seven treatment failures, five underwent colectomy (16.6%). Conclusion WCA can be effective in inducing clinical remission and improving quality of life (IBD-Q) indices in chronic severe steroid refractory ulcerative colitis with highly active disease histologically. This data series suggests WCA should be considered before colectomy in this challenging patient group

https://gut.bmj.com/content/61/Suppl_2/A394.1.info

A Yoshifuku ¹, K Oyama, A Ibusuki, M Kawasaki, M Sakanoue, S Matsushita, K Kawai, K Kawahara, I Maruyama, T Kanekura

Clin Exp Dermatol 2012 Apr;37(3):241-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2230.2011.04181.x. Epub 2011 Oct 18.

Reiter disease (RD) is characterized by a triad of sterile arthritis, urethritis and conjunctivitis. The conditions occur concomitantly or sequentially, and are associated with mucocutaneous features such as circinate balanitis and stomatitis. Arthritis usually occurs in attacks followed by recovery, but it sometimes progresses to permanent damage of the affected joints. Because the symptoms of this disorder are attributable to activated neutrophils, we assessed the efficacy of granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis (GCAP) in a 73-year-old man with RD who had skin rashes on his penis, scrotum and right hand, with severe arthralgia. The patient’s skin rash and joint pain responded dramatically to five sessions of GCAP delivered at intervals of 5 days. We present a detailed description of the patient and discuss the mechanisms of GCAP, and suggest that GCAP may be useful for treating RD.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22007878/

Risa Kikuyama,Ken Fukunaga,Mikio Kawai,Yoko Yokoyama,Koji Kamikozuru,Nobuyuki Hida,Yoshio Ohda,Naohisa Takeda,Koji Yoshida,Masaki Iimuro,Kyoichi Kato,Tomoaki Kono,Koji Nogami,Kazuko Nagase,Shiro Nakamura,Yoshiyuki Takei,Hiroto Miwa,Takayuki Matsumoto, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-9987.2011.00968.x

Granulocyte/monocyte adsorption (GMA) has been introduced as an adjunct intervention for active ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. The processed blood volume (PV) per GMA session is an important factor for its efficacy because depletion of elevated/activated myeloid leukocytes is its main action. Hitherto, this aspect of GMA has been largely ignored. Thirty-three patients were enrolled for remission induction therapy with five weekly GMA sessions at a standard PV of 1800 mL, regardless of patients’ bodyweight (BW). The patients were divided into three groups: high (H)BW (≥65 kg, n = 11), 50 kg ≤ medium (M)BW < 65 kg (n = 12), and low (L)BW (≤50 kg, n = 10). UC clinical activity index (CAI) was according to Lichtiger, and the clinical efficacies were evaluated at both one week post 3^rd GMA (Week 4) and one week post 5^th GMA (Week 6). The average BW was 70.9 ± 6.2 kg in HBW, 55.8 ± 4.5 kg in MBW, and 46.8 ± 1.2 kg in LBW, indicating the mean PV/BW in the three groups being 25.6 ± 2.12, 32.5 ± 2.50, and 38.7 ± 1.0 (mL/kg, P < 0.05), respectively. The LBW group consisted of female patients only. Significant improvements of CAI were seen before treatment at either Week 4 or Week 6 in all groups. A significantly higher remission rate was achieved in the LBW (80.0%) vs. MBW (33.3%) or HBW (27.3%) at Week 6 (P < 0.03). According to this GMA evaluation, the lower-limit of optimum PV/kg should be higher than 38.7 mL/kg for its potential clinical efficacy to be significantly greater than the routine GMA method. Additional BW-oriented GMA studies in larger and gender controlled cohorts of patients should strengthen our findings. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-9987.2011.00968.x

Ryoko SHUKUYA,Toshio HASEGAWA,Yusuke NIWA,Keiko OKUMA,Shigaku IKEDA, Journal of dermatology First published: 18 October 2011

In both patients, GCAP resulted in an immediate improvement in skin lesions and fever reduction, without any adverse effects. We suggest that GCAP is an effective therapy for refractory GPP.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1346-8138.2011.01279.x

Tomomi Fujisawa ¹, Kana Murase, Yoko Okumura, Hiroyuki Kanoh, Tomoaki Doi, Shouzo Yoshida, Shinji Ogura, Mariko Seishima

Ther Apher Dial 2011 Aug;15(4):374-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-9987.2011.00961.x. Epub 2011 Jun 7.

Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is one of the neutrophilic dermatoses mainly caused by activated neutrophils and monocytes. Granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis (GCAP) is a useful extracorporeal circulation therapy for removal of activated granulocytes and monocytes. In this study, GCAP was used to treat three patients with different types of GPP; the diagnoses indicated patient 1 had GPP, patient 2 had GPP developed from psoriasis vulgaris and patient 3 had GPP based on psoriatic erythroderma. We performed GCAP on each of these patients once a week, for a total of five times. We found that the patients’ pustules and edema disappeared and their erythema was reduced by GCAP therapy. Moreover, no adverse effects were observed. Thus, we conclude GCAP could be effective for treating various types of GPP.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21884472/

Takeshi Tomomasa ¹, Hitoshi Tajiri, Seiichi Kagimoto, Toshiaki Shimizu, Atsushi Yoden, Kosuke Ushijima, Keiichi Uchida, Hiroaki Kaneko, Daiki Abukawa, Mutsuko Konno, Shun-ichi Maisawa, Takao Kohsaka, Akio Kobayashi, Japanese Study Group for Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2011 Jul;53(1):34-9. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0b013e31821058bc.

Objective: Leukocytapheresis (LCAP) is a nonpharmacologic therapy that has recently been used to treat ulcerative colitis (UC). This multicenter open-label study prospectively assessed the efficacy and safety of LCAP in pediatric patients with UC. Patients and methods: Twenty-three patients ages 8 to 16 years with moderate (n = 19) to severe (n = 4) steroid-resistant UC were enrolled. One of 2 LCAP columns with different volumes (model EX and the half-volume model EI) was selected, according to body weight. LCAP was performed once per week for 5 consecutive weeks. Clinical and laboratory data were collected at predetermined time points. The primary endpoint was decreased stool frequency/hematochezia score, and secondary endpoints were clinical, laboratory, and endoscopic improvements. Results: The stool frequency/hematochezia score decreased significantly from 4.5 ± 1.2 before treatment to 1.6 ± 1.9 after the fifth treatment. Clinical parameters, including stool frequency, presence of visible blood, abdominal pain, and body temperature, were significantly improved. Fecal calprotectin decreased significantly. Endoscopic findings evaluated using Matts score also improved (P < 0.01). The steroid dose decreased from 1.1 ± 0.4 mg/kg before treatment to 0.8 ± 0.5 mg/kg after treatment. There were no significant differences in changes between the EX and EI columns. The incidence of adverse effects was 61%, although none was serious. The most common adverse effects were decreased hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration. Conclusions: The present study showed that LCAP was well tolerated in children with UC, mostly moderate, and was as effective as in adults. The types of pediatric patients best suited to LCAP remain to be determined.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21694533/

Leukocytapheresis in Pediatric Patients With Ulcerative Coli… : Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (lww.com)

Shingo Kato, Kazuhito Kani, Hidehiko Takabayashi, Ryuichi Yamamoto, Koji Yakabi Gastroenterology 2011 140(5) Suppl. S-279–S-280

Backgrounds&Aims; Granulocyte and monocyte adsorptive apheresis (GMA) adsorbs mainly granulocyte and monocytes, as well as Leukocyteapheresis (LMA) filters many cells such as granulocyte, monocytes, lymphocytes and platelets. However, there was no significant difference in clinical effectiveness between GMA and LMA (Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2008;20:629). We hypothesized effectiveness of GMA and LMA might be dependent on depletion of granulocyte and monocytes. S100A12 was reported to be exclusively expressed in neutrophils and up-regulated by TNF α. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of serum S100 A12 concentration in the GMA treatments and whether S100A12 increases the expression of adhesion molecules, CXCL and CCL chemokines. Methods; 24 patients with ulcerative colitis were treated with GMA. Serum S100A12 was estimated by ELISAmethods.Clinicalactivityindex(CAI)andserumCRPconcentrationwerealsochecked. Immunohistochemical staining of S100A12 and receptor for advanced glication end products (RAGE) were performed in the operated specimens of patients with ulcerative colitis and with colonic carcinoma (control). HUVEC were seeded into 12 well plates and confluent plates were used to experiments. Each experiment was performed in triplicate. HUVEC were treated with human recombinant S100A12 protein. RNA was extracted by RNeasy Mini Kit. 1.5μg RNA was reverse-transcriptated into cDNA. ICAM-1, VCAM-1, IL-8, CCL-2 (MCP1), CCL5 (RANTES), CXCL9 (IP-10) and CXCL10 (Mig) mRNA was quantitated by realtime PCR. Results; S100A12 staining was faintly recognized in the mucosal layer of normal control. S100A12 staining was increased in infiltrating cells in inflamed colon in patients with ulcerative colitis. Strong staining was also recognized in crypt abscess. RAGE staining was also faintly recognized in the epithelial cells in nornmal control. However, RAGE staining was increased in the inflamed epithelial cells. Significantly serum S100A12 concentration was positively correlated with CAI (n=34, p=0.02, rs=0.404). 16 patients were able to estimate S100A12 concentration in the points of pre-and post-GMA treatment. 13 patients wereGMA-respondersand3patientswere nonGMA-responders.SerumS100A12concentration was significantly decreased in GMA responders (pre-vs post-GMA, 1.34±1.08 vs 0.60±0.50, p<0.05). However, Serum S100A12 concentration of non GMA-responders was gradually increased with GMA treatments. ICAM-1, VCAM-1, IL-8, IP-10, Mig, MCP-1 and RANTES mRNA expressions were increased by S100A12 in HUVEC cell lines in time and dose-dependent manners. Conclusion; one of the mechanisms of GMA effect might be correlated with depletion of S100A12 by adsorption of activated neutrophils. S100A12 might aggravate acute and chronic inflammation by up-regulation of adhesion molecules, CXCL and CCL chemokines.

Toshifumi Ashida ¹, Yutaka Kohgo, Akihiro Munakata, Mitsunori Noguchi, Bunei Iizuka, Yutaka Endo, Hiroyuki Hanai, Toshikazu Yoshikawa, Takayuki Matsumoto, Nobuo Aoyama, Toshiyuki Matsui, Keiichi Mitsuyama, Toshifumi Hibi

Transfus Apher Sci 2011 Apr;44(2):113-7. doi: 10.1016/j.transci.2011.01.001.

We conducted a multicenter study to investigate the efficacy of leukocytapheresis (LCAP) without concomitant steroid therapy in active ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Twenty patients were enrolled. LCAP was performed twice a week for 3 weeks. The results revealed a significant decrease of the Lichtiger’s clinical activity index (CAI) from 11.7±2.6 at baseline to 6.6±4.1 after the therapy. The endoscopic index and serum C-reactive protein levels also decreased significantly after the therapy. Of the 20 patients, 15 (75%) were assessed as responders (CAI≤4 or ΔCAI≥3), and 7 (35%) achieved complete remission (CAI≤4). No serious adverse reactions were encountered. The results suggest that LCAP is an effective and safe option for patients with active UC who had not received systemic steroid treatment.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21402309/

John K Triantafillidis, Emmanuel Merikas, and Filippos Georgopoulos Drug Des Devel Ther. 2011; 5: 185–210. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S11290

During the last decade a large number of biological agents against tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), as well as many biochemical substances and molecules specifically for the medical treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), have been developed. This enormous progress was a consequence of the significant advances in biotechnology along with the increased knowledge of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of IBD. However, conventional therapies remain the cornerstone of treatment for most patients. During recent years conventional and biologic IBD therapies have been optimized. Newer mesalazine formulations with a reduced pill size and only one dose per day demonstrate similar efficacy to older formulations. New corticosteroids retain the efficacy of older corticosteroids while exhibiting a higher safety profile. The role of antibiotics and probiotics has been further clarified. Significant progress in understanding thiopurine metabolism has improved the effective dose along with adjunctive therapies. Quite a large number of substances and therapies, including biologic agents other than TNF-α inhibitors, unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, microbes and microbial products, leukocytapheresis, and other substances under investigation, could offer important benefits to our patients. In this paper we review the established and emerging therapeutic strategies in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3084301/