NSF successfully treated with Extracorporeal Photopheresis
On a website as a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health is a report on the clinical findings of three individuals treated with extracorporeal photopheresis who were afflicted with Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis. NSF has been strongly linked to the use of gadolinium contrasting dyes used in MRIs and those experiencing renal or kidney dysfunction. Up until this report no known treatment was available. NSF is characterized by the severe stiffening of joints and skin often causing the victim to be handicap-chair bound and can even cause death. The experimental treatment has shown that in each of the three cases mobility improved. Extracorporeal photpheresis treatment is a form of dialysis that involves treating the blood with photoactive drugs that are then activated when the blood is exposed to ultraviolet light. The blood is then reintroduced to the body effectively helping the body’s immune system fight the disease. At the end of four cycles of ECP all three patients showed a clinical response with the softening of the skin. At the completion of the treatments all experienced improved range of motion in all four limbs. The researchers are confident this may well prove to be an effective treatment of a previously untreatable and sometimes terminal condition.
