A prospective multicentre study on the safety of long-term intensive plasmapheresis in donors (SIPLA).

Background And Objectives: The safety of chronic intensive donor plasmapheresis has not been determined in large prospective studies examining dropout rates, dropout reasons and predictors of withdrawals.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-one plasma centres recruited 3783 donors who were switched from a moderate to an intensive plasmapheresis programme and observed over a 3-year period. Individuals weighing < 70 kg and > or = 70 kg donated 750 ml and 850 ml of plasma per session, respectively.

Therapeutic factor XIII preparations and perspectives for recombinant factor XIII.

With the increasing availability of human plasma this source was used to substitute for the production of factor XIII concentrate from placenta. Prior to changing the source material, the virus safety in accordance with the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP) guidelines and the half-life were investigated. Concerning the virus safety, the following cumulative log 10 clearance factors were obtained: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) > or = 18.

Activity of coagulation and fibrinolysis parameters in animals.

Using diagnostics for the determination of clotting factors and fibrinolytic parameters in human plasma, samples from rat, guinea pig, rabbit, cat, dog, sheep, cattle, horse, pig, and monkey were analysed. The human system was employed even for standard curves and controls. Results obtained in this way are relative values in relation to pooled fresh human plasma of healthy donors which is defined to contain 100% of the norm or 1 unit of each factor per 1 ml.

Polymorphonuclear leucocyte elastase in Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Sixty-one patients with falciparum malaria were studied prospectively to determine the plasma concentrations of the lysosomal proteinase, polymorphonuclear leucocyte elastase (PMN-elastase) and their relationship to disease severity. The patients were divided into 3 groups; severe (parasitaemia > 5%) or vital organ dysfunction (n = 23), moderate (parasitaemia 1%-5% without complications) (n = 15), and mild (parasitaemia < 1%) (n = 23). The mean plasma PMN-elastase level in 10 healthy Thai volunteers was 49.

Biochemical and histological findings on the effect of fibronectin in rabbits with experimental corneal disorders.

The effects of purified plasma fibronectin (FN) in corneal disorders were investigated. Histological findings, the levels of ascorbic acid (AA) and glutathione (GSH) in tear fluids were observed sequentially in rabbits with experimental corneal damage and the degree of corneal lesions was observed. The results indicated that healing of the tissue damage was more promoted in the FN group than in the controls and it was suggested that FN promoted the healing of corneal disorders.