stem cell and RA

[Guest guest]

/*This is getting interesting, I just found this. Is the medical

profession keeping something from us? My whole family suffers from RA

and my Mother died from it and the medications which caused her heart to

give out.

H.*/

Chemo/Stem Cell Experiment Helps RA

By Carol Eustice <http://arthritis.about.com/bio/Carol-Eustice-361.htm>,

About.com Guide

Updated March 18, 2004

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the

Medical Review Board <http://www.about.com/health/review.htm>

/*Positive results from a risky, experimental procedure to treat a

severe case of rheumatoid arthritis are provoking even more interest in

stem-cell transplantation.*/

A report in the October 5th issue of the ls of Internal Medicine

described the first time high doses of chemotherapy followed by stem

cell transplantation was used to treat a severe case of rheumatoid

arthritis. The experimental procedure was led by Dr. Ian Wicks of Royal

Melbourne Hospital in , Australia.

Rheumatoid arthritis <http://arthritis.about.com/cs/ra/>(RA) is an

autoimmune disease. Inflammation, pain, and debilitating joint erosion

are characteristic of this disease in which a person's immune system

attacks their own joints. The subject of the aforementioned experimental

procedure was a 39 year old man who had suffered severe joint damage of

the wrist, ankle, and shoulder joints. The man previously had a total

hip replacement <http://arthritis.about.com/cs/jtreplace/> and had

failed all standard RA therapy.

The research team used high doses of two chemotherapy drugs,

cyclophosphamide and anti-thymocyte globulin, to eliminate the patients

immune cells. Using a technique known as leukapheresis, stem cells were

taken from the identical twin brother who does not have RA and

transplanted to the patient with RA. Sixteen weeks after the stem-cell

transplant, the T cell repertoire of the RA patient was nearly identical

to that of his healthy brother. Even more amazingly, two years after the

chemotherapy/stem-cell transplant therapy the patient is able to swim,

bike, and has no joint pain or other arthritic symptoms. Notably, he did

not receive any other treatment for arthritis during the two year

post-transplant period.

Though the results are dramatic, researchers have expressed caution. The

reported results were only based on a single case and specifically apply

to patients with treatment-resistant autoimmune disease having an

identical twin who is without the disease. Side effects of chemotherapy

and the risks of transplantation must not be overlooked. However, the

success of this experimental therapy will surely generate further

research in the area of stem-cell transplantation as a possible

treatment for the most severe cases of RA.

*REFERENCE:*

ls of Internal Medicine, October 5, 1999