Could a Cancer Treatment Cure Autoimmune Diseases?

"Lupus, which afflicts some five million people worldwide, is a leading cause of death among young women. Doctors had little to offer Reid beyond steroids, which reduce inflammation but can cause bone fractures and diabetes, and a select few immunosuppressant drugs, which expose patients to infections and often fail to halt the disease's progression."

"When Talaya Reid was in high school, in a quiet suburb of Philadelphia, she developed fatigue so severe that she spent afternoons napping instead of going out with friends. She was lethargic at school and her grades suffered, but after graduation she enrolled in community college, where she did well enough to transfer to Temple University."

"CAR-T was developed as a cancer treatment. Now it is showing promise for conditions that have long been considered incurable, such as lupus and multiple sclerosis."

Lupus is a severe autoimmune disease affecting approximately five million people worldwide and represents a leading cause of death among young women. Traditional treatments rely on steroids and immunosuppressant drugs, both carrying significant side effects including bone fractures, diabetes, and increased infection risk, while often failing to stop disease progression. Talaya Reid's case exemplifies lupus's devastating impact: her diagnosis led to kidney damage, severe fluid retention, hair loss, and debilitating symptoms that interrupted her education. CAR-T cell therapy, originally developed as a cancer treatment, now demonstrates potential for treating lupus and other previously incurable autoimmune conditions, offering hope for patients like Reid who have exhausted conventional treatment options.

Read at The New Yorker