Our last appeal was to fund a new Spectra Optia (plasma therapy) machine for the Wessex Neurological Centre.

A large number of diseases affecting brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve and muscle are known to be caused by antibodies (known as auto-antibodies) that can trigger life-threatening illness and severe, permanent neuro-disability. Rapid, effective treatment of patients is critical to enable good recovery.

The Spectra Optia machine allows staff at the Wessex Neurological Centre to continue to treat critically-ill patients on NICU suffering from life-threatening neurological disease with the latest technology.

In addition to this, the new machine has enabled the Wessex Neurological Centre to establish a Plasma Therapy Unit, allowing clinicians to treat day-case and neurology ward patients from across the region living with a range of long-term conditions that are individually rare, but collectively common, such as Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO), Myasthenia Gravis (MG) and Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). 

Further details of this project can be found below: