This ‘Living Drug’ Could Change the Course of Autoimmune Disease

CAR T-cell therapy is showing encouraging results in the treatment of stiff person syndrome, a debilitating autoimmune disease. If approved, it would become the first FDA-authorized therapy for the condition.  This type of cellular therapy could potentially benefit patients with other autoimmune disorders, such as generalized myasthenia gravis, lupus, and MS.

Rebecca Straus Farber, MD, assistant professor of neurology and medical director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, believes it could be promising in MS and may prove especially beneficial in patients with progressive MS, which tends to be more refractory to existing therapies.  However, she cautions that once MS has already damaged the nervous system, CAR T-cell therapy is unlikely to reverse this damage. “We’re not expecting it to repair the nervous system,” said Dr. Straus Farber, but it may potentially halt further disease progression. 

Source: Science News