Yoh Ishiguro ¹, Toshihide Ohmori ², Ken Umemura ³, Masahiro Iizuka ⁴ ,Ther Apher Dial 2020 Oct 7.

GMA was an effective treatment for corticosteroid-naïve patients and the efficacy sustained longer in those not receiving immunomodulators during GMA. GMA fulfills the notion that apheresis is to induce disease remission by removing from the body factors known to perpetuate disease. In therapeutic settings, these findings should help better decision making and avoid futile use of medical resources.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33029920/

Takumi Fukuchi ¹, Hideaki Koga ¹, Shinji Kaichi ¹, Akira Ishikawa ², Takahisa Horita ³, Ryota Araki ⁴, Atsushi Yokota ⁵, Yukiomi Namba ⁶, Masahiro Kyo ⁷, Takaaki Eguchi ⁸, Keiji Shimazu ⁹ Ther Apher Dial 2019 Jun;23(3):224-232

Single-needle intensive granulocyte/monocyte adsorptive apheresis might be a novel alternative therapeutic option for elderly ulcerative colitis patients before considering corticosteroids.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31025824/

Fridrik Thor Sigurbjörnsson & Ingvar Bjarnason, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 5, pages509–516 (2008)

Leukocytapheresis is a controversial nonpharmacologic treatment for IBD, in which white blood cells–the effector cells of the inflammatory process–are mechanically removed from the circulation. Current controversy centers on the uncontrolled nature of the leukocytapheresis trials performed and their use of different outcome measures in patient groups that have very variable disease activity and severity. Nonetheless, the efficacy data obtained are generally quite consistent: an excellent response (remission >80%) has been achieved in corticosteroid-naïve patients with ulcerative colitis and an average remission rate of more than 50% has been achieved in patients who have steroid-dependent or refractory ulcerative colitis. Interestingly, the largest randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study of granulocyte-monocyte apheresis in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis failed to demonstrate efficacy for the induction of clinical remission or response. Regardless, leukocytapheresis seems to be remarkably safe. The precise positioning of leukocytapheresis in the treatment of ulcerative colitis is uncertain at present and will vary according to geography and patient preference for a safe, nonpharmacologic treatment. Further efficacy studies are required to assess what the optimal number and frequency of treatments is, in addition to the need for head-to-head comparisons with established drugs.

Enthusiasm for the use of leukocytapheresis in the treatment of patients with IBD (mainly ulcerative colitis) is fueled by the lack of serious adverse effects and tempered by the lack of conventional placebo-controlled data or head-to-head comparisons with potential competitors

Leukocytapheresis induces clinical remission in more than 80% of corticosteroid-naïve patients who have ulcerative colitis

Average remission rates are in excess of 50% in patients with moderate or severe ulcerative colitis and in patients with corticosteroid-dependent or corticosteroid-resistant ulcerative colitis

Data in Crohn’s disease are sparse and further studies are required

Leukocyte apheresis clearly has potential use in patients with ulcerative colitis, but to decide its precise positioning in treatment algorithms will require targeted studies

https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpgasthep1209

David Schwartz ¹, John R Ferguson, Curr Med Res Opin . 2007 Nov;23(11):2715-28.

Background: A broad range of pharmacologic therapies are available to treat active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including 5-aminosalicylate preparations, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants (e.g., azathio prine/6-mercaptopurine [AZA/6-MP] or methotrexate). Although these therapies are effective, up to 60% of patients are refractory or intolerant. Biologic therapies, such as the anti-TNF agent infliximab, offer promise but are not without controversy; despite many positive reports, steroid-refractory patients are less likely than other individuals to respond to infliximab. Effective, long-term therapies that do not add to the adverse-effects burden in patients with IBD are needed. Of these, granulocyte/monocyte apheresis (GMA) is one promising approach.

Scope: PubMed and relevant congresses databases were searched using the terms ‘granulocyte/monocyte apheresis,’ ‘GMA,’ ‘leukocytapheresis,’ ‘Adacolumn,’ and ‘Cellsorba.’ These studies were further selected to include only those focusing on IBD. A time frame of 2000-2006 was used.

Findings: Data from open-label trials show that patients with moderate-to-severe IBD refractory to conventional pharmacologic treatment achieved clinical response and/or remission after treatment with GMA. Furthermore, recent small open-label trials of GMA show increased rates of induction and maintenance of response/remission in steroid-naïve IBD patients.

Conclusions: The remission rates seen in these open-label clinical trials of GMA are consistent with those of currently available pharmacologic therapies for IBD. However, the majority of these trials enrolled only small numbers of patients, were largely open-label, and were of limited duration. These data must be confirmed in well-controlled, large-scale clinical trials

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17894921/