[LDL-apheresis in the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia].

Several non-pharmacological treatments have been tested for homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia and, among these, plasma-exchange has been the most safe and effective. A recent development of this procedure is LDL-apheresis, that is the selective removal of atherogenic LDL and the return to the patient of his own LDL-depleted plasma. The method is based on the flowing of hypercholesterolemic plasma on sepharose columns with bound anti-LDL antibodies.