Stem-cell transplant: A possible high-risk/high-reward treatment for scleroderma

In this study, 36 people with severe scleroderma received stem-cell transplantation and were compared with 39 otherwise similar people who received a year of standard immune-suppressing medication. After 4.5 years, those assigned to receive stem-cell transplantation had improved overall survival compared with standard treatment (79% vs. 50%) less need for immune-suppressing medication (9% vs. 44%) fewer deaths related to worsening scleroderma (11% vs. 28%) more deaths related to treatment — (3% vs. 0%). These findings suggest that stem-cell transplantation may be much better than standard treatment for people with severe scleroderma even though it is riskier in the short run. What’s next? Despite these encouraging results, other researchers need to reproduce these findings with larger and longer-term trials. And even if confirmed, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Twenty-one percent of study subjects treated with stem-cell transplantation died within 5 years of treatment and treatment-related deaths were more common in this group. So, you can expect to hear about additional research that seeks to refine stem-cell transplantation and other treatment approaches for scleroderma. Scleroderma remains a mysterious and sometimes deadly disease despite decades of research.  So, you can also expect researchers to report on new findings regarding how and why it develops in the first place. In addition, stem-cell transplantation would not be appropriate for less sev...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Autoimmune diseases Health Skin and Hair Care Source Type: blogs