Antibody depletion and cytotoxic drug therapy in severe systemic lupus erythematosus

The established treatment of severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) includes corticosteroids and cytotoxic drugs. Therapeutic plasmapheresis may provide additional rapid relief, but this is only temporary. Controlled trials have repeatedly demonstrated that long-term improvement cannot be achieved if plasmaphereses are performed in addition to long-term oral immunosuppression, as is the usual procedure. This might be an indication that the organism has a considerable ability to re-establish the status quo ante.