Abstract: An adsorbent of high-mobility-group proteins (HMG protein) which can remove HMG protein in body fluid is disclosed. The adsorbent according to the present invention has a water-insoluble carrier on which (a) substance(s) having (a) hydrogen-bondable functional group(s) and/or (a) hydrophobic functional group(s) is(are) immobilized.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for modifying viruses and bacteria in a closed loop system that irradiates the fluid multiple times through the same channel. The apparatus consists of a cuvette, an irradiation station, two ultraviolet light sources, a peristaltic pump, and a bottle which are all systematically situated with respect to a housing and a cover. A plurality of power control switches controls the operation of the apparatus. This includes an on/off power switch, an on/off pump control, and ultraviolet light control switches. Timers are provided to regulate the time period the cuvette is exposed to the ultraviolet radiation within the irradiation station from the two ultraviolet light sources. The cover is also provided to enable the cuvette to be used and exposed to ultraviolet radiation within an enclosed environment.

Abstract: A method, and system, to induce remission in diseases characterized by excess production of sTNR and interleukin 2 has been developed. In the most preferred embodiment, the system consists of antibodies to sTNFR1, sTNFR2 and sIL2R immobilized in a column containing a material such as SEPHAROSE™. The patient is connected to a pheresis machine which separates the blood into the plasma and red cells, and the plasma is circulated through the column until the desired reduction in levels of sTNFR1, sTNFR2, and IL2 is achieved, preferably to less than normal levels. In the preferred method, patients are treated three times a week for four weeks. This process can be repeated after a period of time. Clinical studies showed reduction in tumor burden in patients having failed conventional chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for two-stage blood dialysis of a patient. In one embodiment, the system comprises a first filtration device for receiving the blood from the patient and for producing a first filtrate and processed blood. The system further comprises a second filtration device for receiving the first filtrate and producing replacement fluid and waste product. At least one of the first and second filtration devices preferably comprises a Taylor vortex-enhanced blood filtration device.

Abstract: An adsorbent which comprises a water-insoluble carrier and a compound, which is immobilized on said carrier, having a binding affinity for an antibody against ?1-adrenoceptor and/or an antibody against M2 muscarinic receptor exhibits a remarkably large adsorptive capacity.

Abstract: A graphical user interface (GUI) for medical instruments for a Renal Replacement Therapy that enables an operator to select and review a series of settings for an extracorporeal pump console and implement the settings in batch manner. The GUI automatically adjusts or recommends dependent settings, e.g. filtration rate, as the user adjusts primary settings, e.g. blood flow rate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for preventing and treating septicemia in patient blood is provided. The extracorporeal system includes an antimicrobial device to inactivate at least 99% of bloodborne microorganisms, a hemoconcentrator/filtration unit to remove approximately 50–75% of target molecules from the patient blood and a filter unit to remove target molecules from patient blood from the sieved plasma filtrate. Target molecules are produced by microorganisms, as well as by the patient's cells. These molecules include endotoxins from Gram negative bacteria, exotoxins from Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, as well as RAP protein mediator from Staphylococcus aureus, and cell mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin 1-beta, interleukin 6, complement proteins C3a and C5a, and bradykinin.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for using lectins that bind to pathogens having high mannose surface glycoproteins or fragments thereof which contain high mannose glycoproteins, to remove them from infected blood or plasma in an extracorporeal setting. Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for reducing viral load in an individual comprising the steps of obtaining blood or plasma from the individual, passing the blood or plasma through a porous hollow fiber membrane wherein lectin molecules are immobilized within the porous exterior portion of the membrane, collecting pass-through blood or plasma and reinfusing the pass-through blood or plasma into the individual.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for eliminating HIV in human blood and a device for treating AIDS with non-pharmacotherapy. The method includes (1) pumping the blood containing HIV virus into a soft thin plastic tube while adding air through a T-tube at a definite frequency so that the blood is evenly divided into very small blood droplets (2) introducing the small blood droplets into a screw-shaped quartz tube and exposing the quartz tube under a definite dosage of radiation to kill the HIV virus in the blood droplets is (3) collecting the treated blood in a storage bottle. Results show that after the HIV infected blood is divided into very small blood droplets and is irradiated with a definite dosage of ultraviolet (253.7 nm) for 90 seconds, more than 92% HIV loads in the blood is eliminated, while the lymphocyte (CD4+), erythrocyte, leucocyte and haemoglobin remain almost unchanged.

Abstract: An adsorbent for removing hepatitis C virus which has the ability to adsorb HCV particles, particularly immune-complex HCV particles, from a patient's body blood safely and with high efficiency and high selectivity for enhancing the efficacy of interferon therapy, an HCV adsorption apparatus including said adsorbent, and a adsorbing method for removing HCV are provided. An adsorbent for removing hepatitis C virus which comprises a compound capable of adsorbing hepatitis C virus as immobilized on a water-insoluble carrier, an adsorption apparatus including said adsorbent, and an adsorbing method for removing HCV.

Abstract: Immunoapheresis treatment for cardiomyopathy comprises passing the patient's plasma over a column having coupled thereto a specific ligand for human immunoglobulin, thereby removing a significant portion of the immunoglobulin from the patient's plasma, and then reinfusing the plasma to the patient. The invention is the use of a specific ligand for human immunoglobulin in the manufacture of a column having the ligand coupled thereto, the column being useful for immunoapheresis treatment of a patient with cardiomyopathy. The specific ligand binds, and thereby removes, human autoantibodies which are harmful to cardiac tissue such as antibodies against ?1-adrenergic receptors, ADP-ATP carriers, ? and ? myosin heavy chains, and adenine nucleotide translocators.

Abstract: The invention relates to immunoadsorbers for use in sepsis therapy, in particular for removal of complement factors and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and, if need be, further sepsis mediators such as TNF and interleukins from body fluids, methods for their production and their use.

Abstract: A process for preparing a patient-specific immunoadsorber, which comprises (i) extracting a body fluid from a patient having an immunopathological condition, the fluid containing immune complexes that are relevant to that immunopathological condition, (ii) contacting the extracted fluid with an adsorbent for the immune complexes to form adsorbed immune complexes, (iii) eluting the adsorbed complexes to form an eluate, (iv) fractionating the eluate into a plurality of immune complex component fractions, and (v) immobilizing the immune complex components on one or more biologically compatible carriers activated to bond to its surface one or more desired immune complex components.

Abstract: A graphical user interface for a medical instruments for a Renal Replacement Therapy is disclosed that includes a pictogram representation of the fluid path of an extracorporeal blood circuit that represents fluid lines, pumps and sensors. To assist the user in responding to alarms and rectifying faults in the system the source of a potential trouble is animated. The location of a trouble spot is easily identified by flashing of the corresponding element of the pictogram, change of color or thickness of a corresponding line.

Abstract: This invention describes blood treating material having the capacity to selectively remove endotoxin and cytokine inducing substances from blood or plasma by extracorporeal adsorption for therapeutic septic shock treatment. The endotoxin adsorption ligands of the invention are oligopeptides synthesized from amino acids having a pk>7.2 such as arginine, lysine or histidine, using a polycondensation step such that the resultant oligopeptides exhibit a high degree of polydispersity. Also provided are methods and devices using an adsorbent having a polydisperse oligopeptide of the invention immobilized on a solid state support medium for removing endotoxin from the blood of human or animal subject.

Abstract: Described is a method of removing and reducing HCV from the blood of an HCV-infected patient, which comprises carrying out, once a day for at least 5 straight days, a treatment of bringing the blood into contact with an adsorptive carrier having a higher affinity for infected, activated and/or defective leukocytes than for uninfected leukocytes. The treatment according to the present invention makes it possible to markedly reduce the blood HCV level of a patient suffering from Hepatitis C, thereby enabling antiviral therapy, for example, treatment with interferon. This brings a drastic improvement in the cure rate for Hepatitis C.

Abstract: A method for carrying out therapeutic apheresis comprises separating plasma from whole blood in-vivo and removing selected disease-related components from the separated plasma. Apparatus for carrying out therapeutic apheresis includes a filter device for being implanted in a blood vessel for carrying out in-vivo plasma separation having one or more elongated hollow tubes and a plurality of elongated hollow microporous fibers capable of separating plasma from whole blood at pressure and blood flow within a patient's vein, a multiple lumen catheter secured to the proximal end of the filter device having one or more lumens in fluid communication with the interior of said one or more hollow tubes and a plasma return lumen, and therapeutic apheresis apparatus for removing and/or separating selected disease-related components from the separated plasma and means for directing plasma between said catheter and the selective component removal apparatus.

Abstract: A method for treating systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) by contacting the bodily fluid of a patient with renal tubule cells outside of the kidney.

Abstract: This invention provides a process for producing major histocompatibility antigen class II protein (hereinafter referred to as “MHC class II” for short) which occurs on the surfaces of antigen-presenting cells and the like, and MHC class II-bound materials in which MHC class II, &agr; and/or &bgr; subunit of MHC class II, or a part thereof is bound to a carrier such as beads, fibers and hollow fibers via covalent bond, as well as a module for removing superantigen using the same. This invention also provides a method for detecting or quantifying superantigens using MHC class II or a part thereof having an affinity to the superantigens, as well as an assay kit therefor.

Abstract: An artificial kidney capable of cleaning blood, like a kidney of a healthy body, by any person even at home which is small in the size and simple in the structure and handling, without requiring any pharmaceutical solution. A metabolic end product separation chamber (9) is placed to the center of a cylindrical centrifugator (7) for circulating blood continuously and separating it into blood cell ingredients and plasma ingredients for conducting ultrafiltration of the separated plasmas and intaking water, serum electrolytes and unnecessary metabolic end products, in which a water re-absorbing module (11) capable of flowing the concentrated plasma ingredients and re-absorbing the water content and the serum electrolytes to obtain a cleaned plasma ingredient is placed, and the obtained cleaned blood ingredients are mixed with the blood cell ingredients separated by the centrifugator (7) to obtain cleaned blood.

Abstract: An adsorbent for removing hepatitis C virus which has the ability to adsorb HCV particles, particularly immune-complex HCV particles, from a patient's body blood safely and with high efficiency and high selectivity for enhancing the efficacy of interferon therapy, an HCV adsorption apparatus including said adsorbent, and a adsorbing method for removing HCV are provided. An adsorbent for removing hepatitis C virus which comprises a compound capable of adsorbing hepatitis C virus as immobilized on a water-insoluble carrier, an adsorption apparatus including said adsorbent, and an adsorbing method for removing HCV.

Abstract: Methods and devices for the removal of psoralens and psoralen photoproducts from blood products are described. The methods include contacting a psoralen- and irradiation-treated blood product with a resin capable of adsorbing psoralens and psoralen photoproducts. The removal process is particularly suitable for use with platelet concentrates and plasma because the process does not have a significant adverse effect on clotting factor function. The methods and devices can be incorporated with apheresis systems and other devices and procedures currently used to process blood products for transfusion.

Abstract: This invention discloses a method for reducing the viral load by removal of viruses or fragments or components thereof from the blood by extracorporeally circulating blood through hollow fibers which have in the porous exterior surface, immobilized affinity molecules having specificity for viral components. Passage of the fluid through the hollow fibers causes the viral particles to bind to the affinity molecules thereby reducing the viral load in the effluent.

Abstract: Devices, systems, and methods reduce levels of pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory stimulators or mediators in blood by selective adsorption. The devices, systems, and methods are useful in situations where abnormal levels of or unregulated or excessive interaction among pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory stimulators or mediators occur, or during events that do induce or have the potential for inducing abnormal production of pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory stimulators or mediators. The devices, systems, and methods serve to prevent, control, reduce, or alleviate the severity of the inflammatory response and disease states that are associated with abnormal levels of or unregulated or excessive interaction among pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory stimulators or mediators.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the removal of leucocytes from blood which comprises bringing blood that comprises infected leucocytes into contact with an adsorbent carrier that has a greater affinity for infected, activated and/or defective leucocytes than for uninfected leucocytes especially cellulose acetate. The method can be used in the apheresis treatment of diseases caused by pathogenic organisms, for example, HIV, HCV or malaria. It is especially useful for treatment of HIV.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for treating Hemophilia A or B which comprises implanting in fluid communication with the bloodstream of a mammal in need of such treatment a permeable membrane having one or more walls, a hollow chamber therewithin, a plurality of holes extending through the walls of the membrane and permitting fluid to enter and exit the chamber of the membrane, each of the holes being sized so that it is large enough to permit inactive Factor VII to enter the chamber of the membrane and activated Factor VIIa to exit the chamber of the membrane but small enough to prevent fibrinogen from entering the chamber of the membrane, a plurality of supports being disposed within the chamber, and an effective amount of a Factor VII activator or a source of the activator being bound to the supports, wherein inactive factor VII in blood passing through the membrane becomes activated into Factor VIIa upon contact with the activator within the chamber.

Abstract: A method and device for treating Alzheimer's disease (AD) is disclosed. The method involves the removal of circulating autoantibodies of a biochemical marker or markers, specifically human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), in bodily fluid, preferably blood or a blood product. The invention further includes a device or process of immune system modulation effective for autoantibody removal.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus and method to diminish the pre-existing immune response to the administration of a therapeutic virus by the selective elimination of antiviral antibodies from the serum. The present invention provides a chromatographic material for the elimination of such antibodies. The invention further provides plasmapheresis apparatus comprising this material. The invention further provides methods for the employment of such apparatus as part of therapeutic treatment regiments.

Abstract: Agents for inhibiting cancer metastasis are provided. The methods comprise administering to a patient an antimetastatic agent that comprises one or more of: (a) a peptide sequence that is at least 50% identical to an OB-cadherin CAR sequence; (b) a non-peptide mimetic of an OB-cadherin CAR sequence; (c) a substance, such as an antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, that specifically binds an OB-cadherin CAR sequence; and/or (d) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide that comprises an OB-cadherin CAR sequence or analogue thereof.

Abstract: For separating non-conventional transmissible agents (NCTAs), i.e. causative agent(s), of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) from a solution of a protein susceptible to contamination with NCTAs, particularly from blood products, at least one adsorbent is suspended, for a time of at least 10 minutes. The absorbent is selected from kieselguhr, diatomaceous earth, silicic acid, clay minerals, metal hydroxide, metal oxihydrate, cellulose, perlite, bentonite, and water-insoluble synthetic polymers. The obtained suspension is agitated, and subsequently the adsorbent is separated from the protein solution.

Abstract: This invention relates to a natural killer cell line termed NK-92. The invention provides a vector for transfecting a mammalian cell which includes a nucleic acid sequence encoding a cytokine that promotes the growth of NK-92. Additionally, the invention provides an NK-92 cell, or an NK-92 cell modified by transfection with a vector conferring advantageous properties, which is unable to proliferate and which preserves effective cytotoxic activity. The invention further provides a modified NK-92 cell that is transfected with a vector encoding a cytokine that promotes the growth of NK-92 cells. The cell secretes the cytokine upon being cultured under conditions that promote cytokine secretion, and furthermore secretes the cytokine in vivo upon being introduced into a mammal. In a significant embodiment, the cytokine is interleukin 2.

Abstract: The invention relates to the removal of viruses from aqueous solutions, as a rule protein solutions, by ultrafiltration. This entails the viruses to be removed being increased in size by incubation with a high molecular weight receptor binding thereto, preferably a specific antibody, so that, on the one hand, the separation effect is improved and, on the other hand, a larger pore diameter which can now be chosen for the filters used also makes it possible for smaller viruses to be separated from larger protein molecules present in protein solutions, and, where appropriate, the filtration rate is increased.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for depleting endotoxin from biological solutions by exposure of solutions containing endotoxin to an immobilized metal affinity chromatography matrix composed of a metal ion such as iron (III) bounds to a resin, wherein the metal is capable of selectively binding endotoxin in the solution. These methods are useful for purifying, for example, biological products prepared using bacterial cells, or products in which bacterial contamination is problematic. In another embodiment, endotoxin in circulation in a body can be removed by exposing the blood to the aforementioned matrix, whereby endotoxin is removed before the blood is returned to the body.

Abstract: A method to treat cancer uses ultrapheresis, refined to remove compounds of less than 120,000 daltons molecular weight, followed by administration of replacement fluid, to stimulate the patient's immune system to attack solid tumors. In the preferred embodiment, the patient is ultrapheresed using a capillary tube ultrafilter having a pore size of 0.02 to 0.05 microns, with a molecular weight cutoff of 120,000 daltons, sufficient to filter one blood volume. The preferred replacement fluid is ultrapheresed normal plasma. The patient is preferably treated daily for three weeks, diagnostic tests conducted to verify that there has been shrinkage of the tumors, then the treatment regime is repeated. The treatment is preferably combined with an alternative therapy, for example, treatment with an anti-angiogenic compound, one or more cytokines such as TNF, gamma interferon, or IL-2, or a procoagulant compound. The treatment increases endogenous, local levels of cytokines, such as TNF.