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Posted on Aug 25, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
A new study by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has developed a treatment that could potentially be used to selectively kill autoimmune cells produced by patients, it has been claimed.
A new study by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has developed a treatment that could potentially be used to selectively kill autoimmune cells produced by patients, it has been claimed.
During a clinical trial, blood cells from human patients with autoimmune disorders were used in the progression on the therapy, Eurekalert notes.
By blocking a metabolic pathway regulating the immune system immune cells that react against a type-1 diabetes patient's own tissues were specifically eliminated.
Prior to this, the researchers had been able to reverse the effects of the disease in a mouse.
Denise Faustman, director of the MGH Immunobiology Laboratory, said: "These results show that the same selective destruction can occur in humans' cells and connect what we saw in our animal studies with the protocol we are pursuing in our phase one clinical trial."
In related news, a Kaiser Permanente study has claimed that patients who lose weight soon after being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes have twice the chance of experiencing positive outcomes.
