A new treatment for dialysis-related amyloidosis with beta 2-microglobulin adsorbent column

Dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) is characterized by the presence of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-m) in the plasma. In order to eliminate beta 2-m from the circulating blood, the beta 2-m selective adsorbent for direct hemoperfusion (DHP) was developed. A DHP column (BM-01), containing 350 ml of the adsorbent, was subjected to clinical trials. The column was connected with a PAN (AN69) membrane dialyzer in series and used 3 times a week for 1 week (11 patients), 4 weeks (5 patients), 6 months (1 patient) and 12 months (2 patients). The percent reduction (%) of beta 2-m was for 16 patients (for 1 or 4 weeks), more than 65, and for 3 patients (for more than 6 months), 76.5 +/- 4.9, 73.5 +/- 5.7, 72.2 +/- 6.2. At the end of each session, beta 2-m plasma levels were found to be below 10 mg/L, with 3.4 mg/L being the lowest. The total amounts of beta 2-m removed were 172.5 +/- 22.3, 257.0 +/- 75.6, 157.6 +/- 32.2 and 429.8 mg/session at max. Two out of these three patients had a favorable effect on joint symptoms and ocular fundus. It can be concluded that this selective adsorption therapy may delay the progression of DRA, and is worth considering for wide application.