Cell therapy substantially reduces severe rheumatoid arthritis in first clinical trial
Immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapy are used primarily to treat cancer. In the future, these patient-specific therapies, manufactured from patients' own immune cells, could also help cure autoimmune diseases. Six patients with particularly severe rheumatoid arthritis have now received this treatment at Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers…
A pioneering clinical trial at Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin has demonstrated that cell therapy can significantly reduce severe rheumatoid arthritis in patients. Immunotherapies like CAR T-cell therapy, primarily used for cancer treatment, could also potentially cure autoimmune diseases. Six patients with particularly severe rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled in the trial.
By the end of the observation period, three patients no longer required any medication for the disease. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own joints, causing inflammation and joint damage. Current treatments can control inflammation but cannot cure the disease, leading patients to rely on lifelong medication.
The trial used CAR T-cell therapy, which involves genetically modifying patients' own immune cells to specifically target and eliminate disease-driving B cells, the cause of the inflammation. The therapy proved to be both effective and safe, with disease activity decreasing markedly in all six patients, and three achieving sustained remission without medication.
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