Stem cells banish severe autoimmune disease for 15 years

Credit: Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library A man and a woman with a rare and devastating autoimmune disease have been in remission for more than 15 years after receiving a stem-cell transplant 1 . The positive results, which were reported in Med , suggest that the experimental treatment warrants a larger clinical trial, say scientists. The two people had a severe and potentially fatal disease in which immune cells produce antibodies that trigger an attack on the spinal cord and nerve connecting the eye and the brain, leading to a condition called neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Symptoms tend to appear in episodes that last for days or months and include eye pain, vision loss, vomiting and weakness or paralysis affecting the arms and legs. Current treatments can prevent these episodes with ongoing medication, but they did not work in these two individuals. After the stem-cell transplant, the man’s neurological function improved and he resumed a normal life and went on to have two children. The woman was able to use her arms more effectively than before her treatment and no longer requires medication to reduce symptoms. “I don’t think we can say it’s a cure, but then again, it has addressed the problem the disease has caused over this very long period of time,” says Jiao Jiao Li, a biomedical engineer at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. …