Preliminary study: Blood treatment is safe, may help treat stiff person syndrome

Medical Xpress / American Academy of Neurology / American Academy of Neurology Summer Conference ^ | July 6, 2022 | Scott D. Newsome, DO et al

[ConservativeMind]

Stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders are rare autoimmune and neurological disorders that most often cause muscle stiffness and spasms in the torso and limbs. According to a study released today, a blood treatment called plasmapheresis, also known as therapeutic plasma exchange, may be a safe way to treat stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders. Researchers also found that many study participants also experienced an improvement in symptoms or function, or both, while being treated with this therapy.

For people with these disorders, symptoms may come and go early in the disease, but eventually become constant. Stiffness and spasms usually begin in the leg and torso muscles and over time can affect the arms and even the face. Other symptoms such as gait unsteadiness and unexplained falls can occur. Most people with these disorders are women.

For the study, researchers looked at the medical records of 36 people with stiff person syndrome spectrum disorders who underwent plasmapheresis. This process cleans the blood by removing and replacing a person's blood plasma with albumin, a product manufactured from donated plasma to treat certain diseases. Of the participants, the majority had classic stiff person syndrome.

Researchers found that this therapeutic plasma exchange process was both a safe and tolerable form of treatment for people with stiff person syndrome spectrum disorder. Four of the people studied, or 11%, had complications from the treatment, such as catheter infection or hemorrhage, but no deaths or anaphylaxis were reported.

Additionally, 20 people, or 56%, saw improvement with these treatments. Twelve people needed fewer medications to treat their symptoms three months after the treatment.

Researchers also reviewed other cases and identified an additional 42 people with stiff person syndrome who underwent the same treatment and found 69% reported a temporary improvement in their condition.

[ConservativeMind]

Less medicine needed even three months later? Excellent news.

[ConservativeMind]

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[mewzilla]

Does the blood come in unvaxxed...?

[moovova]

And waste a perfectly good Viagra pill? I don’t think so.

...unless it’s been more than four hours.

[srmanuel]

Not to make light of the situation but I thought “stiff person” syndrome was called getting old, because the older I get the stiffer I get and not in all right places

[Sirius Lee]

Stiff Person Syndrome, you say?

[38special]

My wife said she would seek medical help for me but only after she had her way with me...😁

[Jim W N]

stiff person syndrome

As in when you're dead. That "syndrome".

[SuperLuminal]

Guess this means that we’ll never be happy to see anyone again...🤨

[webheart]

I can’t see any reason to correct stiff “person” syndrome.

[one guy in new jersey]

They changed the name from “Stiff Man Syndrome”.

So there’s that

[M Kehoe]

Thanks for posting.

I wonder if this new treatment will have any effect on Thomsen disease?

5.56mm

[moovova]

Lol! I got that!