![]() ![]() Gilkeson, MD, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina. The review was led by the Lupus Foundation of America’s (LFA’s) research awardee, Gary S. When used in cancer, CAR T-cells are expensive to create for each person, so they may only be used for autoimmune conditions in people with severe disease when no other treatments are available, he says. A newly published study reviewing the current body of scientific evidence on the safety and efficacy of stem cell therapy to treat rheumatic disease highlights the potential benefits of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) a type of stem cell for the treatment of lupus. “This is a small number of patients, so we don’t know if this is going to be the result for everyone.” By comparison, “CAR T-cells would be less invasive and more tolerable”, he says.īut it is too soon to know how effective CAR T-cells will be for autoimmune conditions, says Wincup. ![]() The achievement means CAR T-cells may also be useful against other autoimmune diseases that are driven by antibodies, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), in which the immune system attacks nerves, says Schett.Īnother radical treatment for MS involves “ rebooting” the immune system by destroying it with chemotherapy. We don’t know what normally causes B cells to start reacting against DNA in people with lupus, so it is possible that some kind of trigger may start the process happening again, says Wincup. These new B cells didn’t react against the DNA. Basic therapy includes hydroxychloroquine, an immunosuppressant. The CAR T-cells were barely detectable after one month, and after three and a half months, the volunteers’ B cells started to return, having been produced by stem cells in bone marrow. It has been suggested that with their potent immune regulatory effects MSCs are future of cell therapy in refractory lupus. Currently, treatment is aimed at suppressing the immune system so it does not attack the body. Within three months of receiving the treatment, all five participants were in remission, without needing to take any other medicines to control their symptoms. Schett and his team wondered whether using CAR T-cells to hunt down all the B cells would be more effective. But the treatments can’t kill all the B cells, and if the disease flares up badly, some people develop kidney failure and inflammation of their heart and brain. It is currently treated with medicines that suppress the immune system or, in more severe cases, with drugs that kill B cells. ![]()
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