[Apheresis in dermatologic diseases].

This report discusses the different types of apheresis used to treat skin diseases and focuses specifically on photopheresis or ECP (extracorporeal photochemotherapy). ECP is a systemic immunomodulatory therapy used successfully to treat many different, mainly autoimmune diseases such as cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, graft-versus-host disease, systemic sclerosis, atopic dermatitis, and pemphigus vulgaris. It has also proved effective against graft rejection after transplant.

Extracorporeal photopheresis in graft-versus-host disease.

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common and often serious complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. There are two major forms of GvHD: an acute form which develops in the first 100 days after HSCT, and a chronic form which develops later. Chronic GvHD is a multiorgan syndrome with many features of autoimmune diseases, such as sclerodermatous skin changes, cholestasis, pulmonary fibrosis, xerostomia, oral ulcerations, myositis and fasciitis.