B-cell treatment for anto-immune diseases

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

My name is Luke. I had sudden onset in Feb 1990. The usual subset

symptoms; sub temp, sore throat, swollen glands, profound weakness,

ibs, and after a while, cog problems. I have contributed to other

CFS listservs.

The below article (with attribution) caught my attention. One cannot

help but wonder if this B-cell auto-immune theory may have some

relavance to CFS.

Luke

Electronic Telegraph 29 oct 00 WWW.telegraph.co.uk Breakthrough as

scientists discover cure for arthritis by s, Science

Correspondent

THE first evidence of a safe and effective cure for rheumatoid

arthritis, the crippling disease that affects more than 750,000

people in the United Kingdom, is to be unveiled tomorrow by British

scientists. Until now doctors have been able to offer only limited

pain relief. Now a team of researchers at University College, London,

has identified drugs that produce significant improvements in

patients. In results to be announced at an international scientific

conference tomorrow, the team will show that patients see a dramatic

improvement after a single treatment, with some apparently cured of

the disease completely.

The success with patients treated so far - all of whom had failed to

respond to any standard therapy - has been so impressive that an

international trial of the treatment is now under way. Gutch,

the chief executive of Arthritis Care, a charity, said last

night: " This sounds like one of the new biologic treatments for

rheumatoid arthritis which we feel represent a very exciting

breakthrough. Although they are not necessarily going to be

appropriate for all people with arthritis, certainly those with more

severe rheumatoid arthritis would benefit greatly. Drug budgets

should be increased to allow for that. "

The scientists believe that they have discovered what causes the

body's defenses mistakenly to attack healthy joints and tissue. The

breakthrough focuses on the role of so-called B-cells, white blood

cells that defend the body against viruses and bacteria by making

antibodies. Although these antibodies are made at random by B-cells,

most of them prove useful against some microbe or other. Every so

often, however, the B-cells accidentally make antibodies that attack

healthy tissue. Worse still, some of these errant antibodies also

trigger the production of copies of themselves. The result, according

to the University College team, is a huge self-sustained attack on

joints and tissue, which appears in the sufferer as rheumatoid

arthritis.

Professor , who is leading the research team, told

The Telegraph: " It probably takes just one genetic mistake in a

lifetime to trigger this reaction but once it gets going it becomes a

vicious circle. " Prof and his colleagues believe that they

have found a way to break the circle, using drugs that seek out and

destroy B-cells. He said: " Unlike with other cells in the immune

system, most people can live without any B-cells for a while. By the

time we reach adulthood we have already made most of the antibodies

we need. " After a single treatment to wipe out all the B-cells, the

body responds by making fresh ones. The chances of these new B-cells

making the same mistake as their predecessors, however, thereby

triggering a return of rheumatoid arthritis, is small.

According to Prof , results from the 20 patients treated so

far have been extremely encouraging. He said:. " After 18 months the

first five patients - who have had rheumatoid arthritis for an

average of 20 years - now have only some residual pain from the

damage already done. They have returned to leading a more or less

normal life, with one going to the gym and one taking up gardening

for the first time in ages. So far, of the total of 20 patients only

two have had no benefit at all. "

These initial findings - about to be published in Rheumatology, the

leading journal - will be announced tomorrow at the annual meeting of

the American College of Rheumatology. Until now doctors could offer

one sufferer, n Selfe, aged 61, from Enfield, nothing beyond

painkillers. She said: " I'm really excited by the new research. " Mrs

Selfe, who has suffered with the disease since 1965, losing the use

of her wrists and now in need of an artificial elbow joint, went

on: " Not all drugs work for everyone but without all the hard work of

these scientists there wouldn't be any treatment at all. "

Prof and his team believe that their B-cell-based therapy

might also offer hope to patients with other auto-immune diseases,

such as Crohn's disease, lupus and even multiple sclerosis. Prof

said: " If our explanation is right, auto-immune diseases may

be like bugs in a computer program. If you happen to press certain

keys in a particular order it crashes. The solution is to turn

everything off and start up afresh - which in this case means using

drugs to eliminate all the B-cells. " The team is hoping to refine the

therapy by targeting only the errant B-cells. Prof

said: " This would allow us to use a rapier rather than a bludgeon.

Even so, on the basis of the data we have we now believe it is

typically possible to keep people completely well for at least a

year, with virtually no side-effects. "