The debate about stem cells and their possible uses continues throughout the medical – and political – world. Ramifications of that debate could have an impact on lupus patients.
A study by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine reported that 48 patients had responded well to stem cell transplantation. The study included patients with SLE that was resistant to standard treatment and was conducted to determine if a long-term clinical trial would be useful with this type of therapy for lupus patients.
Stem cells taken from the patient were re-infused, or put back, into the patient after researchers eliminated defective white blood cells. The study’s authors concluded that a clinical trial would be beneficial in comparing the stem cell treatment to the current standard of care for lupus, since the study seemed to show that stem cell therapy may offer “better disease control and improved long-term survival.”
Good news for lupus patients if the clinical trial goes forward.
This would be especially true for lupus patients with treatment resistant forms of the disease and lupus involving multiple organs, who often have a high disease-related mortality rate.
Source:
News from the American Medical Association. Preliminary Research Shows Promise for Using Stem Cell Transplantation to Treat Patients With Severe Lupus, Feb. 3, 2006.
