Changes in Water Properties in Human Tissue after Double Filtration Plasmapheresis-A Case Study

Abstract

Double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) is a blood cleaning technique that enables the removal of unwanted substances from the blood. In our case study, we performed near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy measurements on the human hand tissue before and after a specific DFPP treatment (INUSpheresis with a TKM58 filter), along with NIR measurements of the substances extracted via DFPP (eluate). The spectral data were analyzed using the aquaphotomics approach. The analysis showed that the water properties in the tissue change after DFPP treatment, i.e., an increase in small water clusters, free water molecules and a decrease in hydroxylated water as well as superoxide in hydration shells was noted. The opposite effect was observed in the eluates of both DFPP treatments. Our study is the first that documents changes in water spectral properties after DFPP treatments in human tissue. The changes in tissue water demonstrated by our case study suggest that the positive physiological effects of DFPP in general, and of INUSpheresis with the TKM58 filter in particular, may be associated with improvements in water quality in blood and tissues.

Keywords: INUSpheresis; aquaphotomics; double-filtration plasmapheresis; near-infrared spectroscopy; water.

Figure 1

(a) Measurement performed on the palm of the left hand. (b) Bag with eluate extracted during the first DFPP treatment. The yellowish-brown color is striking, which is due to a high concentration of filtered substances. Normal blood plasma is clearer and more yellowish. (c) Raw spectra. (d) and (e) Difference spectra of the tissue measurements after the first ($X_{\mathrm{Diff}}^{1\mathrm{st}\mathrm{DFPP}}\left({\mathrm{A}}_1\right)$, $X_{\mathrm{Diff}}^{1\mathrm{st}\mathrm{DFPP}}\left({\mathrm{A}}_2\right)$) and second ($X_{\mathrm{Diff}}^{1\mathrm{st}\mathrm{DFPP}}\left({\mathrm{B}}_1\right)$, $X_{\mathrm{Diff}}^{1\mathrm{st}\mathrm{DFPP}}\left({\mathrm{B}}_2\right)$) DFPP treatment. (f,g) show zoomed-in regions with the 12 WAMACS. A listing of the WAMACS with the corresponding water properties can be found in Table 1 in Muncan et al. [79].

Figure 2

(a) Measurement of the eluate. (b) Raw spectra. (c) Difference spectra. (d) Zoomed-in part of (c) highlighting the region with the 12 WAMACS.

Figure 3

Aquagrams of the (a) tissue and (b) eluate spectra. The blue dashed circles refer to the zero baseline indicating no changes in the difference spectra. Note the complementary specific water absorbance spectral pattern of both aquagrams.

Figure 4

Concentration of toxins detected in the eluate of the first and second DFPP treatment. The first eluate showed a high amount of toxins whereas the amount was significantly reduced in the second eluate, highlighting the ability of DFPP to remove toxins from the blood/tissue.