Overview
Removal of IgE through adsorption of IgE on a specially designed column after apheresis of blood has the potential to improve the severity of atopic dermatitis.
In this study the investigators will treat patients with a severe form of Atopic dermatitis not responding or having to much side effects to systemic imunosuppressive treatment with this modality.
Description
Patients will be treated with immunoadsorption on 4 consecutive days week 1 and three consecutive days week 5 and week 9.
The clinical improvement and histological and serological tests will be evaluated.
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
- Adults (> 18 year) with severe atopic dermatitis (objective SCORAD > 40)
- Who's AD is persistent and stable since more than 1 year
- Who signed the informed consent
- Who are not pregnant or do not plan to become pregnant, during the immunoadsorption treatment
- Who were treated in the recent past with phototherapy or immunosuppressive therapy ( one or more : cyclosporin A, methotrexate , azathioprine , mycophenolate , systemic corticosteroids ) and where this therapy was not sufficiently helpful, had unacceptable side effects or are contraindicated
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients who did not give an informed consent.
- Patients with mild or moderate AD.
- Patients with severe AD improving with, and tolerating, standard therapy (including phototherapy, short periods of corticosteroids, the above mentioned immunosuppressive therapies ) and having no contra-indications for these therapies
- Pregnant women and female patients willing to become pregnant during the planned period of treatment or immediately after.
- Having contra-indications for immunoadsorption:
- Patients with a known allergy for the material used during immunoadsorption.
- Severe cardiovascular diseases.
- Severe bleeding during anticoagulation .
- Treated with ACE-inhibitors.
- Patients younger than18 years.
- Having a malignant disease not under remission