{"id":26026,"date":"2019-09-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/high-risks-and-high-costs-for-young-blood\/"},"modified":"2020-01-06T19:22:24","modified_gmt":"2020-01-06T19:22:24","slug":"high-risks-and-high-costs-for-young-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/high-risks-and-high-costs-for-young-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"High risks and high costs for young blood donations to older people"},"content":{"rendered":"
A California-based biopharmaceutical company announced in August that its proprietary mixture made of plasma proteins from young donors stopped cognitive decline in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer\u2019s patients after six months.<\/p>\n
In a randomized clinical study by the company, Alkahest<\/a>, 39 patients intravenously received either 100 milliliters or 250 milliliters of the distilled plasma proteins for five consecutive days during the first week and again for five consecutive days during the 13th week.<\/p>\n No detailed data on the study has been released yet, but Alkahest said in a press release that \u201cthese plasma fractions enhance neurogenesis, improve age-related deficits in learning and memory, and reduce neuroinflammation\u201d in animal models. The company plans to\u00a0present its findings at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Conference in December.<\/p>\n Whole plasma can be lifesaving or potentially life-threatening, depending on the medical situation. Over the past few months, this straw-colored component of blood\u2014which carries blood cells and proteins, contains antibodies, glucose, clotting factors, electrolytes and hormones\u2014has been shrouded in controversy.<\/p>\n In legitimate emergency situations (such as trauma and burns) and rare chronic conditions (such as autoimmune disorders and hemophilia), plasma is essential for survival. The World Health Organization includes fresh frozen plasma on its WHO Model List of Essential Medicines<\/a>, which outlines the most important and integral medicines for a basic health care system.<\/p>\n But in other scenarios, including using plasma infusions from young donors to tap into a so-called \u201cfountain of youth,\u201d medical experts say plasma can be life-threatening.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning against the use of plasma infusions from young donors in hopes of treating dementia, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, Parkinson\u2019s disease, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and other age-related conditions.<\/p>\n