A new study brings hope for people with ALS. Immunotherapy may dramatically slow down the progression of the disease, it shows.
The neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affects nerve cells, which control the movement of muscles, in the brain and spinal cord.
In ALS, these cells deteriorate over time, which gradually leads to overall weakness, problems breathing, speaking, and swallowing.
Ultimately, the disease results in complete paralysis, respiratory failure, and death.
ALS which is also known as Lou Gehrigs disease, named after the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in the 1930s is estimated to affect over 20,000 people in the United States at any given time.
Moreover, just over 6,000 people in the U.S. are thought to receive an ALS diagnosis every year.
For the time being, there is no cure for ALS. Current treatments delay the progression of the disease, but not by much.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have so far approved two drugs to treat ALS: one extends life by 23 months but does not improve the symptoms, and one can help to delay the decline in daily functioning.
Breaking research, however, brings new hope for a more effective ALS treatment. Researchers led by neurologist Dr. Stanley H. Appel, co-director of the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute in Texas, examined the benefits of immunotherapy for people with this condition.
More specifically, the team injected a type of immune T cell called regulatory T cells (Tregs) into three ALS patients. This is the first time that this therapy has been investigated in humans.
The findings were published in the journal Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation.
Tregs help to stave off the inflammation that characterizes ALS and speeds up the progression of the disease.
We found, notes Dr. Appel, that many of our ALS patients not only had low levels of Tregs, but also that their Tregs were not functioning properly.
So, the researchers hypothesized that increasing the levels of Tregs in three ALS patients would slow down the disease.
We believed that improving the number and function of Tregs in these patients would affect how their disease progressed, Dr. Appel says.
The participants underwent a procedure known as leukapheresis. Often used to treat patients with leukemia, leukapheresis involves taking out the patients blood and filtering it out through a special machine that separates the white blood cells from the red ones.
In this case, the researchers separated Tregs from the red blood cells and expanded them ex vivo. After that, the red blood cells were returned to the bloodstream.
The researchers noticed that in the case of the patients whose Tregs werent functioning properly, once the cells were outside the body, they returned to normal.
Throughout the study, the patients received eight Treg injections, and their disease progression was assessed using two different ALS progression rating scales.
First study author Dr. Jason Thonhoff, Ph.D., a Houston Methodist neurologist, further details the research and reports on the findings. He says, A person has approximately 150 million Tregs circulating in their blood at any given time.
Each dose of Tregs given to the patients in this study resulted in about a 30 to 40 percent increase over normal levels, Dr. Thonhoff adds.
As we believed, our results showed it was safe to increase their Treg levels, says Dr. Appel. Dr. Thonhoff adds, Slowing of disease progression was observed during each round of four Treg infusions.
What surprised us, he goes on, was that the progression of their ALS dramatically slowed while they received infusions of properly functioning Tregs.
My hope is that this research changes ALS from a death sentence to a life sentence. It wont cure a patients disease, but we can make a difference.
Dr. Stanley H. Appel
Dr. Thonhoff is also very pleased with the results and he is hopeful about future therapies. He says, Larger studies will be required to determine whether it is an effective treatment, but as a clinician and researcher who specializes in ALS, I am very excited about the hope these initial findings provide.
Read the original here:
New ALS treatment: Immunotherapy with T cells
- Jake Diekman throws BP session for Rangers | MLB.com - MLB.com - August 6th, 2017 [August 6th, 2017]
- Cerebral palsy: Symptoms, diagnosis, treatment - December 5th, 2017 [December 5th, 2017]
- Hypothalamus - the body's thermostat | ASU - Ask A Biologist - December 6th, 2017 [December 6th, 2017]
- When Stroke Affects the Thalamus - Stroke Connection ... - December 28th, 2017 [December 28th, 2017]
- The Endocrine System: Hypothalamus and Pituitary - December 28th, 2017 [December 28th, 2017]
- Hypothalamus - Anatomy, Blood supply and Function | Kenhub - December 28th, 2017 [December 28th, 2017]
- Ulcerative Colitis - Cedars-Sinai - January 6th, 2018 [January 6th, 2018]
- Ulcerative colitis - Treatment - NHS.UK - January 7th, 2018 [January 7th, 2018]
- Business Directory | Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area - January 8th, 2018 [January 8th, 2018]
- Will States Continue To Fund Stem Cell Research? : Shots ... - January 28th, 2018 [January 28th, 2018]
- Spinal Cord Injuries - emedicine.medscape.com - February 15th, 2018 [February 15th, 2018]
- Spinal Cord Injuries - spine.org - February 15th, 2018 [February 15th, 2018]
- Journal of Clinical & Experimental Cardiology - Open Access Journals - April 10th, 2018 [April 10th, 2018]
- Cardiology Treatment - Fortis Healthcare - April 10th, 2018 [April 10th, 2018]
- Biology Junction - April 12th, 2018 [April 12th, 2018]
- Managing Right Ventricular Failure in PAH: An Algorithmic ... - April 14th, 2018 [April 14th, 2018]
- Ticagrelor vs Clopidogrel After Fibrinolytic Therapy in ... - April 22nd, 2018 [April 22nd, 2018]
- Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapeutics: William H. Frishman ... - May 13th, 2018 [May 13th, 2018]
- 13 Super Foods Good for Eczema - Top Eczema Treatments - May 15th, 2018 [May 15th, 2018]
- Diagnosis & Treatment of Parkinson's - ParkinsonsDisease.net - May 30th, 2018 [May 30th, 2018]
- Arizona Heart Rhythm Center - June 10th, 2018 [June 10th, 2018]
- Ayurvedic Medicines for Ulcerative Colitis | Natural ... - June 21st, 2018 [June 21st, 2018]
- Weinstein Cardiovascular Development and Regeneration Meeting - June 30th, 2018 [June 30th, 2018]
- Ulcerative Colitis Information Centre - July 31st, 2018 [July 31st, 2018]
- Sudden Death in Dogs - Pet Health Network | Pet Health ... - August 7th, 2018 [August 7th, 2018]
- Coronary Heart Disease - Ischaemic heart disease - British ... - August 21st, 2018 [August 21st, 2018]
- Cardiac Rehabilitation: Overview, History and Definition ... - August 25th, 2018 [August 25th, 2018]
- Difference between Cardiac Arrest and Respiratory Arrest ... - August 25th, 2018 [August 25th, 2018]
- ECM for Pericardial Closure - Aziyo - August 25th, 2018 [August 25th, 2018]
- Adult Mental Health | Georgia Department of Behavioral Health ... - September 6th, 2018 [September 6th, 2018]
- Mental Health | ECLKC - September 6th, 2018 [September 6th, 2018]
- Mental Health - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - September 6th, 2018 [September 6th, 2018]
- Center for Vascular Biology - Home | UConn Health - September 22nd, 2018 [September 22nd, 2018]
- # Diabetes Stem Cell Research Diabetes Care Measures - September 30th, 2018 [September 30th, 2018]
- Cardiac Rhythm Disturbances | The Patient Guide to Heart ... - November 2nd, 2018 [November 2nd, 2018]
- Arrhythmia | Cleveland Clinic - November 2nd, 2018 [November 2nd, 2018]
- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Wound Healing | Johns ... - November 13th, 2018 [November 13th, 2018]
- NIMH Home - November 24th, 2018 [November 24th, 2018]
- What is an interventional cardiologist? | Heart Surgeries ... - November 26th, 2018 [November 26th, 2018]
- Molecular Cardiology Research Institute Boston | Tufts ... - November 29th, 2018 [November 29th, 2018]
- Lower vascular plant | botany | Britannica.com - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- Welcome to the ABG Tutorial Welcome to Hansen - December 12th, 2018 [December 12th, 2018]
- Cardiac catheterization - Wikipedia - December 12th, 2018 [December 12th, 2018]
- Stem Cell Research & Therapy | Home page - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- Journal of Stem Cell Research and Therapy- Open Access ... - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- Stem-cell therapy - Wikipedia - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- Rhode Island Interventional Cardiology | Cardiovascular ... - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- Interventional Cardiology Certification Policies | ABIM.org - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- Interventional Cardiology - Boston Scientific - December 23rd, 2018 [December 23rd, 2018]
- 9 Benefits of Human Growth Hormone (Along with Side ... - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Growth hormone deficiency - Wikipedia - December 27th, 2018 [December 27th, 2018]
- Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Cardiac Gene Biology | St ... - January 28th, 2019 [January 28th, 2019]
- Cardiomyopathy - CardioSmart - February 8th, 2019 [February 8th, 2019]
- Centenary Institute | Medical Research, Life Saving Research - February 24th, 2019 [February 24th, 2019]
- Cardiovascular Medicine | Department of Medicine - March 29th, 2019 [March 29th, 2019]
- Rapid Test Market 2019 with Recent Trends, Revenue, Demand and Top Manufactures- Bureau Veritas, SGS SA, Intertek Group plc, Eurofins Scientific -... - October 11th, 2019 [October 11th, 2019]
- Medical Imaging Equipment Market Research Report 2019: Global Industry Analysis, Business Development, Size, Share, Trends, Future Growth, Forecast To... - October 11th, 2019 [October 11th, 2019]
- Analysis on the Global DNA Read, Write & Edit Market, 2017-2019 and Forecast to 2024 - Yahoo Finance - October 11th, 2019 [October 11th, 2019]
- Cardiac Surgery Instruments Market is Expected to Tread a Steady Growth Trajectory by Clocking a CAGR of 5.9% from 2017 to 2022 - Health News Office - October 24th, 2019 [October 24th, 2019]
- PEDIATRIC MEDICAL DEVICES MARKET IS PROJECTED TO EXPAND AT A CAGR OF 8.0% FROM 2018 TO 2026 - Health News Office - November 1st, 2019 [November 1st, 2019]
- myTAIHEART Test Provides Evidence for Injury from Biopsy of Heart Transplant Recipients Cardiology2.0 - Cardiology2.0 - November 1st, 2019 [November 1st, 2019]
- Mental health and your heart - British Heart Foundation - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- BUZZ-U.S. STOCKS ON THE MOVE-Cango, Gulfport Energy, Abiomed, Standard Diversified, Wanda Sports, Eidos - Nasdaq - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- Cost Analysis of COPD Exacerbations and Cardiovascular Events in SUMMIT - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - November 19th, 2019 [November 19th, 2019]
- Hundreds walk to defeat ALS in Ancient City - St. Augustine Record - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- Living with Lung Cancer: The Silver Linings - Curetoday.com - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- Building the human spinal cord atlas - SynBioBeta - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- The Week That Wasn't: Keto and the Flu, Human Cyborg, Duvet Disease - Medscape - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- ALS advance offers hope for those diagnosed with deadly disease - WRAL.com - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- ALS Stem Cell Therapy Developer Seeks Amendment to its AstroRx Trial - ALS News Today - November 22nd, 2019 [November 22nd, 2019]
- Former Boston Globe writer, current NHL executive Snow diagnosed with ALS | College Hockey - USCHO - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- AB Science announces the publication of new results in the peer-reviewed journal Glia that further support masitinib's potential mode of action in ALS... - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- Christmas in the City thrills homeless families, takes on poignancy with founders ALS diagnosis - The Boston Globe - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Announces AMX0035 Demonstrated Statistically Significant Treatment Benefit for People with ALS in the CENTAUR Trial - Business... - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- RADICAVA (edaravone) - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- List of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Medications (5 Compared ... - December 23rd, 2019 [December 23rd, 2019]
- Neuropore Completes Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Healthy Volunteers with NPT520-34, a Therapeutic Candidate Aimed at Treating Parkinson's Disease and... - January 14th, 2020 [January 14th, 2020]
- Comprehensive Analysis on Prostacyclin Market based on types and application - Technology Magazine - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]
- N.J. karate legend who inspired thousands loses battle with ALS - NJ.com - January 18th, 2020 [January 18th, 2020]