1985 Volume 13 Issue 4 Pages 1003-1009
Two male heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia were treated by repeated Plasma Exchange (PE) at intervals of 3 weeks for a year. One was 57 and another was 51 years old whose initial plasma cholesterol level were 490 and 442mg/dl, respectively. Both patients had angina pectoris and their plasma cholesterol were resistant to the conventional drug treatment. PE was performed using IBM cell separator (model 2997). Plasma (1, 500ml) was removed and replaced by an equal volume of human serum albumin. It is well known that apolipoproteins play an important role in regulation of lipoprotein metabolism. However, changes of plasma appolipoproteins concentrations during long-term PE for familial hypercholesterolemia have not been reported. Apo A-I, A-II, B, C-II, C-III and E were assayed by single radial immunodiffusion method. Plasma apolipoproteins decreased significantly during PE. Total amounts of apolipoproteins removed from two patients during each PE were as follows: apo B (case 1: case 2, 1, 300mg: 1, 540mg)>apo A-I (910mg: 546mg)>apo A-II (238mg: 164mg)>apo C-III (89mg: 104mg)>apo E (66mg: 70mg)>apo C-II (53mg: 70mg). Efficiency of PE in removing apolipoproteins did not change in the course of a year. After starting PE, angina pectoris was relieved.
