Microplastics, forever chemicals, autoimmune flares, long COVID, POTS, longevity medicine. A lot of big health conversations keep circling back to one surprising place: what’s floating around in our plasma. I’m introducing therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), also known as plasma exchange or plasmapheresis, and explaining why a procedure that’s been used in hospitals for decades is now drawing attention far beyond the ICU.
We start with the basics so the idea feels concrete, not scary: what plasma is, what actually happens during a TPE procedure, and why it’s not the same as donating blood. Then we get precise about what’s proven vs what’s evolving. I walk through established, guideline-supported uses in autoimmune, neurologic, and hematologic care and explain why having a diagnosis is not the same as being a candidate. Timing, disease severity, labs, cardiovascular stability, vascular access, and the right setting all matter.
From there, we move into the most asked-about areas: autoimmune disease and antibody-driven illness, PANS/PANDAS in severe cases, suspected autoimmune dysautonomia and selected POTS presentations, and the emerging research around long COVID phenotypes. We also unpack environmental medicine headlines, including human data on lowering circulating microplastics after TPE and what PFAS research suggests, without pretending that lowering a level automatically prevents disease. Finally, I lay out the safety realities, why this is not a spa treatment, and how I think about combining conventional medicine with functional medicine to address both removal and root cause.
If this helped you think more clearly about TPE, subscribe, share this with someone who’s been curious, and leave a review so more people can find a grounded, evidence-aware explanation.
Find me at www.harmonyhubhealth.com
Email me at michele@harmonyhubhealth.com
