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Good Morning America Features Dr. Richard Burt's Work with Autoimmune Diseases
As recently featured on Good Morning America, Northwestern Memorial Hospital researchers have found that
transplanting patients with blood stem cells that originate from their own bone marrow can induce the remission of life-threatening, treatment-resistant lupus. Lupus affects an estimated 1.5 million people, mostly young females. Clinical research trials are also exploring the use of adult stem cells in other autoimmune diseases.
In a study published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers at Northwestern Memorial reported that the probability of
disease-free survival at five years for patients enrolled in the lupus research trial was 50 percent.
The study, which was
launched in 1997 when Dr. Burt performed the country's first stem cell transplant to treat lupus, enrolled 50 patients from 20 states and ran through January 2005.
The stem cell transplant process used by Dr. Burt and his team is similar to that done to treat some forms of cancer. The patients' own bone marrow stem cells are harvested from their blood. These cells, which can become different kinds of blood and immune system cells in the body, are then separated from the other blood cells. Next, in a process that usually requires a few weeks of hospitalization, patients immune systems are virtually destroyed through high doses of chemotherapy. Then the cleansed stem cells are returned to the bone marrow to repopulate the marrow and body in an effort to regenerate a healthier immune system.
"This is like re-booting a computer," says Dr. Burt. "The idea is that if you turn back the clock and let the immune system heal itself, the patient should have a chance of ending up without the disease."Read the full story here:
http://www.nmh.org/nmh/mediarelations/mediaoutputs.htm?cid=1117
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