An ‘exciting’ new treatment for lupus could end the need for lifelong medication

Doctors are hailing a new “new treatment” for lupus that changes the patient’s cells to fight autoimmune disease. death can end the need for lifelong medication.

Lupus can range from mild to severe, with symptoms including joint pain, skin problems, fatigue and inflammation of the large organs. Patients often have to take drugs for the rest of their lives, from ibuprofen to steroid tablets and injections, or other immunosuppressant drugs or antibiotics.

Around 5 million people worldwide are thought to have this condition, which mainly affects women.

In the UK, three patients have received CAR T-cell therapy for the most serious form of lupus, which can be life-threatening and cause damage to the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys. In Germany, patients who received the new treatment have recovered and do not need to take lupus medication.

Prof Ben Parker, a rheumatologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, said he believed the breakthrough could revolutionize treatment for lupus patients, and could lead to a cure for the disease.

“Lupus is a disease that requires lifelong medication, but this treatment has the potential to change that, which is very exciting. This important new treatment marks an important step in our lupus research.”

So far, CAR T-cell therapy has been used mostly in cancer patients, but researchers believe it could treat many other diseases.

It works by changing genes to help the immune system recognize and attack the problem cells, giving people a possible cure.

Britain’s first patient, a 32-year-old woman named Katherine, was treated at the National Institute of Health and Research Manchester Clinical Research Facility at Manchester Royal Infirmary in July.

Two other UK patients have previously received treatment at University College Hospital, with one of them – 50-year-old Katie Tinkler – receiving CAR T-cell treatment on Wednesday this week.

Tinkler, from Guildford, Surrey, who has had lupus for 30 years with symptoms including joint pain and kidney disease, said she was “excited” to take part in the trial.

He said: “If this works, it changes lives. Until now, there has been nothing for lupus that can be a cure. The dream is to not have lupus – that would be amazing. ”

Patients with the new treatment will be followed for 15 years to fully evaluate its effects.

Doctors hope that CAR T-cell therapy can correct the defects in lupus and cure those with a more severe form of the disease.

Even after a few weeks, Katherine said she felt “more energy” and no more joint swelling, adding: “I feel have hope for the future.”

People undergoing the new treatment need to stay in hospital for 10 days and are warned of possible side effects. This includes their immune system being vulnerable for several weeks to an infection or other condition that causes the immune system to go into overdrive.

However, many patients whose lupus is worsening and who may be going into kidney failure, for example, may decide that the risks are worth it. The CAR T-cell therapy in the study is called obecabtagene autoleucel and the trial is supported by Autolus Limited.

Dr Eleni Tholouli, director of the adult stem cell transplant unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary, said: “It is a very exciting time to offer this type of treatment to lupus patients with this clinical trial.”

“We hope [it] it will provide better results and change the treatment methods for patients with this disease. “