Can serial therapeutic plasma exchange remove synthetic chemicals from humans?

• Synthetic chemicals are widespread and may adversely affect health. • Novel therapies to reduce bodily synthetic chemical levels are needed. • Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) can reduce plasma toxins. • Many nutrients are critical components of detoxification pathways. • Serial TPE plus nutrient supplementation reduced synthetic chemical levels. Chronic exposure to synthetic chemicals can result in their accumulation in the body and have potentially deleterious effects on physiological functions and cellular processes. Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is generally considered to be a safe outpatient procedure to reduce a number of circulating harmful substances and has been used to treat various autoimmune disorders. We hypothesize that a series of three or five TPE sessions, in conjunction with additional nutritional supplementation, would reduce synthetic chemical levels in adults. To evaluate our hypothesis, a urinalysis of 38 synthetic chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, phenols, volatile organics, parabens, acrylamides, phthalates, and other metabolites) was first conducted in a group of 91 healthy adults; the mean (standard deviation) number of synthetic chemicals detected at moderate or high levels was 3.9 (2.4) per participant. The top three chemicals detected were bisphenol A, a phenolic compound, glyphosate, an herbicide, and butylparaben, a paraben; these chemicals were detected at elevated levels in 60 %, 35 %, and 30 % of the participants, respectively. Subsequently, a subset of 11 participants underwent a series of three or five TPE sessions, combined with nutritional supplementation, and synthetic chemical urinalyses were repeated at 2-weeks, 6-weeks, and 6-months after the last TPE session. Collectively, all synthetic chemical levels elevated at baseline dramatically and significantly (p ≤ 0.0006) decreased after therapeutic intervention. We conclude that TPE with nutritional supplementation may be a viable therapeutic option to reduce bodily synthetic chemicals. Randomized, controlled trials are warranted to assess potential risks and benefits.