January 18, 2018
Plasma therapy has been used in medicine for more than 30 years, including traumatology, cosmetology, dentistry and general surgery. However, the effectiveness of the procedure largely depends on the quality of the plasma obtained, the platelet concentration and the preservation of their biological properties.
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The main purpose of plasma therapy is to obtain autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from the patient's blood. Platelets contain growth factors. The resulting plasma is then injected into the problem areas, also known as target sites.
To do this, blood is drawn from the patient's cubital vein using a needle catheter and collected in a special sterile vacuum tube containing an anticoagulant (sodium citrate or sodium heparin).
The blood-filled tube is inverted several times to mix the blood with the anticoagulant, then placed in a centrifuge to separate plasma from red blood cells by centrifugation. The resulting plasma is administered to the patient by injection. In short, that is the basic procedure.
The most important task is to obtain plasma that is genuinely rich in platelets. These platelets must also be healthy and undamaged.
What is wrong with the Plasmolifting method?
The Plasmolifting plasma therapy method, proposed by Russian colleagues, is actively promoted throughout the CIS countries. Its authors did not invent anything fundamentally new, apart from their own method of manufacturing a separating gel, which was patented in 2012.
The principle is based on the different densities of blood cells and the gel, and consequently on their different sedimentation rates and the specific arrangement of fractions in the tube after centrifugation. The higher the density of a fraction, the faster it settles to the bottom of the tube during centrifugation.
For example, red blood cells have the highest density (1.100 g/ml), so they settle first. White blood cells then settle, with a density of 1.062–1.082 g/ml.
The gel should settle above the red and white blood cells. Platelets, with a density of 1.058 g/ml, should remain above the gel, followed by plasma with a density of 1.026.
Red and white blood cells are located below the gel, while platelets and plasma remain above it. This platelet-containing plasma can then be used for plasma therapy.
Unfortunately, the Plasmolifting method contains serious errors that its authors either failed to take into account or overlooked for certain reasons, possibly intentionally.
In their patent for the invention of a special separating gel, the authors incorrectly state that platelet density is 1.030. This value applies to blood plasma without formed elements, but certainly not to platelets themselves.
The actual density of platelets
According to an official publication of the European Committee on Blood Transfusion, the platelet density value is 1.058. The table and a link to the document are provided below.
Exactly the same values can be found in the textbook Transfusiology (E. B. Zhiburt, 2002).
Separating gel and platelet loss
According to patent RU 2 494 788 C1, the authors of Plasmolifting developed a separating gel with a density of 1.050 g/ml. Since platelet density (1.058) is higher than the gel density, centrifugal force causes platelets in Plasmolifting tubes to move below the gel. As a result, the plasma intended for injection is depleted of platelets.
Several months later, the authors registered a new patent, RU2543324C2, in which they stated that the density of their gel was within the range of 1.050–1.060 g/ml.
The gel composition in the second patent is absolutely identical to that in the first patent, which raises a number of questions: why was one value stated initially and then another? It creates the impression that the initial conditions were adjusted to fit the desired result.
Regardless, this does not improve the actual outcome. Even if we assume that the gel density is exactly 1.060, the small difference between the gel density and platelet density means that platelets will still tend to sink into the gel, and some of them will become trapped in it. As a result, the plasma will be depleted of platelets.
Gel density: 1.050–1.060 g/ml.
Platelet density: 1.058 g/ml.
Since the lower limit of the stated gel density range is below the platelet density value (1.050 < 1.058), there is every reason to be confident that platelets will sink into the gel.
This is precisely why so many reports describe better results with conventional plasma therapy using citrate tubes.
The separating gel principle was known earlier
Incidentally, the principle of separating plasma from sediment using a separating gel was known long before the Russian patent.
One example is the paper Isolation of Human Platelets (Thrombocytes) (2002), written by John M. Graham, Professor at the School of Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University.
In his work, however, the professor proposes using a separating gel (barrier) with a density of 1.063, which is higher than platelet density. This prevents platelets from sinking into the gel and allows them to remain suspended in the plasma.
This approach can certainly be considered correct.
It appears that our Russian colleagues borrowed the idea from earlier researchers but failed to implement it properly. This may have been due to insufficient information about the density of blood components. I myself spent several days searching for these data.
Alternatively, the authors of Plasmolifting may simply have failed to understand that blood plasma density is not the same as platelet density. Or perhaps they deliberately provided inaccurate information.
The reason is no longer particularly important. The essential point is that the error in the method has been identified.
Three platelet subpopulations
To conclude the discussion of platelet density, I would like to point out that 1.058 is an average value.
There is another study from the Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, published in 1992. According to this study, human blood contains three platelet subpopulations based on density:
- Low-density platelets (1.040 < d < 1.065 g/ml) — 24% of the total volume.
- Intermediate-density platelets (1.065 < d < 1.070 g/ml) — 47% of the total volume.
- High-density platelets (1.070 < d < 1.080 g/ml) — 29% of the total volume.
More than 76% of platelets have a density above 1.065!
Under the centrifugal force of the centrifuge, all these platelets will easily sink into the gel and pass through it, waving goodbye to the plasma.
Here is the link to this study:
Study of platelet density subpopulations — PubMed
High centrifugal force is another disadvantage
The next disadvantage of the Plasmolifting method is the mandatory use of high centrifugal force (835–1400 g) during centrifugation. Otherwise, red and white blood cells simply cannot pass through the gel.
This is described in the Plasmolifting method instructions. If you have Plasmolifting tubes, you can conduct an experiment: centrifuge blood at speeds 4–6 times lower than usual. Your red blood cells will remain above the gel and partially sink into it.
The high centrifugal force required by the Plasmolifting method inevitably damages platelets and also drives them into the red blood cell and gel traps. Professor John M. Graham mentions this in the paper cited above.
As a result, the plasma becomes depleted.
Main conclusions
To summarize the discussion of the Plasmolifting method, I would highlight the following points:
- The authors of Plasmolifting used incorrect initial data: the actual platelet density is 1.058, not 1.030 as they claimed.
- Consequently, the gel density used in Plasmolifting tubes was selected incorrectly.
- Platelets containing growth factors sink into the gel, depleting the plasma and significantly reducing the effect of the injections.
- Gel is evil! It is impossible to achieve ideal separation of blood fractions using a single gel. The density of platelets and the density of the lightest leukocytes are approximately the same. In terms of density, they can be considered one fraction.
SUPERPLASMA — an alternative method
All these disadvantages are eliminated in the proprietary SUPERPLASMA method. Superplasma contains significantly more growth factors, the platelets remain undamaged, and their concentration is considerably higher than in Plasmolifting tubes.
You can learn more about the Super Plasma method by following this LINK.
Superplasma tubes can be ordered HERE.
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