A cancer therapy put severe rheumatoid arthritis into remission
CAR T-cell therapy dramatically reduced disease activity in six people with severe rheumatoid arthritis that had resisted other treatments, with three achieving medication-free remission. The treatment may work by clearing out harmful immune cells and effectively rebooting part of the immune system, although much larger studies are still needed.
CAR T-cell therapy, initially developed to combat cancer, may hold promise in treating severe rheumatoid arthritis. In a landmark clinical trial at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, six patients experienced significant improvement in their condition. The trial, reported in Nature Medicine, achieved remarkable results, with disease activity dropping substantially in every participant and three patients even ceasing medication for their rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes joint inflammation and damage, often requires lifelong treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs and immune-suppressing medications. In some cases, even newer therapies fail to provide adequate relief, leaving patients with persistent pain and reduced quality of life. The trial's design focused on targeting disease-driving B cells, which are immune system memory cells that may hide within the lymph nodes, bone marrow, or joint tissue and repeatedly trigger inflammation.
Researchers used a technique called CAR T-cell therapy to identify and eliminate these harmful cells. By equipping the patients' immune cells with a receptor that specifically targets the CD19 surface molecule, the treatment could potentially reach and destroy these elusive disease-driving B cells.
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- A cancer therapy put severe rheumatoid arthritis into remission sciencedaily.com
