Post by Shadow on Feb 3, 2006 8:49:02 GMT -5
New Scientist
# 21:00 31 January 2006
# NewScientist.com news service
# Roxanne Khamsi
Scientists claim that they have achieved landmark success with an experimental approach, using a patient’s own stem cells, to fight the life-threatening autoimmune disease lupus.
The treatment substantially improved the condition of about half of the lupus patients, all of whom had stopped responding to standard therapy. But the treatment still carries real risks and medical experts caution against calling it a cure.
The study offers “a potential ray of hope” for lupus sufferers who do not respond to standard measures, says Duane Peters at the Lupus Foundation of America. “We hope to see a follow-up study that can determine whether this treatment is superior to other aggressive types of care and to compare the safety of these alternatives,” he adds.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disorder in which patients’ immune cells start attacking their own tissues. Symptoms range from joint pains to organ failure. Doctors have tried treating the disease with drugs that suppress the immune system, but not all patients respond to such medications.
High-dose chemotherapy
Richard Burt of the Northwestern School of Medicine in Chicago, US, and his colleagues recruited 50 people with severe lupus for which standard treatment had failed.
In an attempt to “reset” the immune system, researchers first harvested and separated bone marrow stem cells from the patient’s own blood. These cells develop into immune cells.
The next step of the process – called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or HSCT – involved intensive chemotherapy sessions. This high-dose chemotherapy destroys a person’s immune response and requires hospitalisation to avoid catching any viruses or bugs during this vulnerable period.
# 21:00 31 January 2006
# NewScientist.com news service
# Roxanne Khamsi
Scientists claim that they have achieved landmark success with an experimental approach, using a patient’s own stem cells, to fight the life-threatening autoimmune disease lupus.
The treatment substantially improved the condition of about half of the lupus patients, all of whom had stopped responding to standard therapy. But the treatment still carries real risks and medical experts caution against calling it a cure.
The study offers “a potential ray of hope” for lupus sufferers who do not respond to standard measures, says Duane Peters at the Lupus Foundation of America. “We hope to see a follow-up study that can determine whether this treatment is superior to other aggressive types of care and to compare the safety of these alternatives,” he adds.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disorder in which patients’ immune cells start attacking their own tissues. Symptoms range from joint pains to organ failure. Doctors have tried treating the disease with drugs that suppress the immune system, but not all patients respond to such medications.
High-dose chemotherapy
Richard Burt of the Northwestern School of Medicine in Chicago, US, and his colleagues recruited 50 people with severe lupus for which standard treatment had failed.
In an attempt to “reset” the immune system, researchers first harvested and separated bone marrow stem cells from the patient’s own blood. These cells develop into immune cells.
The next step of the process – called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or HSCT – involved intensive chemotherapy sessions. This high-dose chemotherapy destroys a person’s immune response and requires hospitalisation to avoid catching any viruses or bugs during this vulnerable period.