Novel Cell Therapy Gives Hope to Patients With Autoimmune Disease

An autoimmune disease remains a puzzle waiting to be solved by scientists. Over the past years, health experts kept thinking of ways to treat it, yet no one has succeeded in finding a solution to this condition.

Recently, German researchers have arrived at an effective technique to combat this disease. Through special cell therapy, lupus patients can finally have a glimmer of hope to experience improvements in their bodies.

How Does Lupus Affect One's Body?

According to Wired, people with lupus can experience a myriad of symptoms, including organ damage, skin problems, fatigue, and more. Naturally, the body's immune system fights the viruses by attacking them. This happens when a person has inflammation or infection in the body.

However, in the case of lupus, body protection could not detect the difference between the person's cells and the ones that invade the body.

So, what happens is that the auto bodies tend to self-attack the tissues and organs. Instead of doing good, it only does harm the affected person.

Because it's so hard to diagnose, experts continue to seek ways to treat lupus. Its symptoms are seen to be similar to other diseases, such as rashes on the face.

In some cases, it can be triggered by certain situations, such as taking drugs, being exposed to sunlight, and infection.

CART-T Therapy Could Treat Lupus

According to a report by Science.org, a method in the form of CART-T (chimeric antigen receptor T) therapy has shown some improvements among patients with lupus.

Betty Diamond, an immunologist from the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, said that the trial had produced "phenomenal" results. Although the approach is effective, she believes the research needs more experiments to prove its guaranteed safety for autoimmune disease patients.

Speaking of the method, the process involves taking T-cells from a patient. The researchers will conduct genetic engineering to modify the cells. This will later destroy the harmful cells in the body.

The T-cells are not thrown away after the process. Instead, it will be injected once again into the patient.

Before CAR-T therapy became a treatment for autoimmune diseases, it was first used for cancer treatment. For the past decade, doctors have been utilizing it to get rid of lymphoma and leukemia.

Indeed, this novel cell therapy is effective, but the researchers have some concerns. T-cells tend to be destructive to cytokines. When these molecules are destroyed, the patient will experience a complication in the form of inflammation.

In short, some experts think this approach might harm the patients more than eliminate the symptoms.

The trial notes that the therapy treated five patients with lupus. After less than four months, the B-cell production took place, and this time, the autoantibodies faded away from the body.

Autoimmune Drugs Are Not Enough

The study proves that the available drugs are not enough to ease up the symptoms of a lupus patient.

The treatment, meanwhile, was seen to be a promising breakthrough in the field of health.

"This impressive study adds to the growing body of evidence that CAR-T therapy may be a therapeutic option for diseases beyond cancer, including autoimmune disorders such as lupus," Jonathan Epstein, executive vice dean of the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine said in an email.

In other news, scientists created a device that can help stroke survivors have a sensation on their limbs once again.

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Written by Joseph Henry