This causes pain, stiffness, swelling and eventual erosion of cartilage and bone. The inflammatory process can even harm organs elsewhere in the body. Although the disease can occur at any age, it usually starts in young adulthood, between the ages of 20 and 45. Within a decade, about 50 percent of sufferers are too disabled to work or qualify for Medicare assistance. Conventional therapy for stubborn cases relies on powerful anti-rheumatic drugs that help relieve pain and swelling and may slow the progression of inflammatory joint disease, but about 30 to 50 percent of patients are not helped by the drugs.
Antibodies are special defensive proteins that normally fight off infections in healthy individuals.
But in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, some antibodies go awry. The Prosorba column is a cylindrical cartridge about the size of a coffee mug. As the plasma passes over the coated silica, the protein A draws out a small amount of antibodies before the treated blood is retransfused back into the patient. With Prosorba therapy continually being refined, Ross said there's evidence it now can help up to approximately half of the patients who meet the criteria for treatment. Patients sit in a reclining chair or bed during the two-hour procedure, as if they were giving blood or having blood drawn.