
via Siasat
A new technique using patients’ own modified cells to treat Crohn’s disease has been proven to be effective in experiments using human cells, with a clinical trial of the treatment expected to start in the next six months.
Researchers at the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) developed the technique by studying white blood cells taken from patients who have Crohn’s disease, and comparing them to cells of healthy people. Their findings allowed cell therapy specialists in the BRC to develop a treatment involving taking patients’ cells, and growing them in a special culture so that they behave more like cells from healthy people.
The research, published in the journal Gastroenterology, shows that this technique is effective in human cells, meaning it is ready for use in a clinical trial. The proposed Tribute Trial will test whether the treatment is safe and effective for treating Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease is a lifelong condition in which parts of the digestive system become severely inflamed, causing a range of symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach aches, tiredness and weight loss. Its causes are unknown, but the immune system is known to play a part. The often debilitating condition is estimated to affect around 620,000 people in the UK.
Professor Graham Lord, previously Director of our BRC, led the research. He recently took up a role as Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at the University of Manchester. He said:
“This is the next frontier in cell therapy, as we’re going beyond treating the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, and trying to reset the immune system to address the condition.
“It’s a real home-grown treatment in the sense that we started with observing cells and tissues donated by patients at Guy’s and St Thomas’, have developed a treatment, and are now starting to undertake trials, all at the Trust. It shows how central patients are to research, helping to create a treatment that might help thousands more people.”
Rachel Sawyer, a communications manager who is 50 and lives in Anerley in south east London, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2000 and treated at Guy’s and St Thomas’. Although her condition is now under control, she supports other people who have Crohn’s and runs the Twitter account @Bottomline_IBD.
She said: “One of the worst things for me was the unpredictability, particularly around needing the toilet in a hurry. Having Crohn’s completely re-routes your daily life and makes it hard to do the normal things most of us take for granted like going out socially or taking public transport. Even now, the fear of it is never really far from my mind.
“Another difficult thing is the stigma associated with bowel disease. It’s difficult to talk and be open about it, even with family and friends. I found life very isolating and challenging at times – and that’s something so many people with Crohn’s experience, regardless of whether they were diagnosed years ago or last month. For people diagnosed young, it can impact on the formative years of their life.
“Anything that could help people with Crohn’s have the confidence to go out and get back to being the people they were destined to be would be a game-changer.”
The researchers found that specialised white blood cells called regulatory T cells from Crohn’s patients produced less of a gut-specific protein called integrin ?4?7 than regulatory T cells from healthy people. Working with the specialists at the NIHR Guy’s and St Thomas’ BRC’s Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Platform, they developed a cell therapy technique based on these findings.
This technique involves developing cells from the Crohn’s disease patients with a molecule called RAR568, which restores healthy levels of integrin ?4?7. The cells are then given back to patients by intravenous infusion.
Learn more: Patients’ own cells could be the key to treating Crohn’s disease
The Latest on: Crohn’s disease
via Google News
The Latest on: Crohn’s disease
- New partnership announced to develop first prognostic tests for pediatric Crohn's diseaseon January 25, 2021 at 10:16 am
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation has entered into a partnership with LifeArc to potentially develop the first clinical lab test to predict disease course in pediatric patients with Crohn's disease and ...
- Mouth cancer: Having a difficulty swallowing food could be an indication of the diseaseon January 25, 2021 at 10:00 am
The deadly disease can offer some early clues in a number of ways with a difficulty swallowing being one of them.
- My Life With Crohn'son January 25, 2021 at 9:04 am
Crohn's disease has been my constant companion since 1985, when I was a student at the University of Maryland. Back then, I started to have stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea. At first, I thought the ...
- Global Crohn’s Disease Drug Market 2021: industry demand, insight & forecast by 2026on January 25, 2021 at 6:59 am
Pune, Maharashtra, India, January 25 2021 (Wiredrelease) MarketDesk :This Global Crohns Disease Drug Market provides an all encompassing update market statistics, trends, and growth scenario. This ...
- Diets Ease Symptoms in Crohn'son January 24, 2021 at 6:06 am
Both the Mediterranean diet and the Specific Carbohydrate diet were effective for symptom reduction in patients with Crohn's disease, a randomized clinical trial demonstrated. At week 6, symptomatic ...
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatment Market Analysis Revealing Key Drivers, Growth Trends and Competitive Assessment through 2023on January 23, 2021 at 12:17 am
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatment Market Analysis Revealing Key Drivers, Growth Trends and Competitive Assessment through 2023 iCrowdNewswire Jan 23, 2021 8:00 AM ETThe
- Can an App Help Your Manage Crohn’s Disease?on January 22, 2021 at 11:09 am
An app may help you manage your Crohn’s disease, but there are things to keep in mind. Learn about the pros and cons of Crohn’s apps and how to choose one that’s right for you.
- Crohn's Disease Epidemiology Forecast to 2029: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan and Canadaon January 22, 2021 at 1:13 am
Epidemiology Forecast to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The publishing team's epidemiologists utilized historical data obtained from peer-reviewed articles and ...
- Abnormal hyperactivation in the brain could be an early biomarker of Alzheimer's diseaseon January 21, 2021 at 5:22 pm
Abnormally hyperactive areas in the brain may help better predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease, according to findings of a research team led by Université de Montreal psychology professor Sylvie ...
- Coenzyme Q10 could treat mitochondrial diseases, colon cancer, thyroid carcinoma and Crohn's diseaseon January 19, 2021 at 6:17 am
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a molecule essential for life that is synthesized in the cells of our organs and tissues, but is also acquired through diet ...
via Bing News