The current status of extracorporeal immunomodulation

Abstract A course of extracorporeal immunomodulation is defined as a treatment which intervenes and consequently modulates or, in other words, activates and/or suppresses the immune mechanisms utilizing an extracorporeal procedure. Such treatment has traditionally depended on administration of drugs, typically steroids and/or immunosuppressants. Most of the apheresis techniques currently available belong to or are very similar to those used for blood purification and involve the removal of the pathogenic substances such as antibody(ies) and/or immune complex(es). The cellular components are also treated in extracorporeal immunomodulation. As some of the extracorporeal immunomodulation techniques have already demonstrated clinical effectiveness that cannot be achieved by conventional therapies, it is appropriate to propose a new therapeutic approach to the immunological disorders.