Rheumatoid arthritis is a problematic and debilitating condition that causes problems to people all across the world. Unlike osteoarthritis which causes problems through the wear and tear of life on the joints, rheumatoid arthritis is actually an autoimmune disease that causes the body’s own defences to attack healthy joints. The condition can be chronic, leading to discomfort, pain, swelling and in some cases even disability.
That means it is always good news when a new technique is found that can be used as a treatment for the disease. And we are in luck as a team of scientists at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has developed a new technique to treat autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. It works by infusing cells that regulate immune response. It has already been demonstrated to be effective on mice even weeks after the disease started.
It is estimated that a staggering 50 million Americans currently suffer from autoimmune disorders. These also include lupus, Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and celiac disease. The human immune system usually attacks only cells that are in the body when they shouldn’t be, but autoimmune diseases trick the body’s defences into thinking that healthy cells are actually problematic. The immune system then attacks these cells and inadvertently causes serious health problems.
In this new research, the mice were first injected with a protein that triggered rheumatoid arthritis. The scientists then infused CD8 T-reg cells which play an important role in stopping the immune response when it is no longer required.
If the treatment can be equally effective in humans then it could lead to this new technique being widely used to fight off rheumatoid arthritis. The study is obviously still in its infancy, but the positive results on mice are an excellent step in the right direction.
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