Revolutionary Cancer Tx Could Transform Autoimmune Disease
Jan Janisch-Hanzlik, suffering from multiple sclerosis, became the first patient to receive CAR T-cell therapy for autoimmune diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Originally developed for cancer treatment, CAR T is now being explored for conditions like multiple sclerosis and lupus, aiming to reset the immune system. While the therapy shows promise, it also presents risks and uncertainties regarding its long-term effectiveness and side effects.
- ▪Jan Janisch-Hanzlik was motivated to pursue CAR T-cell therapy due to her struggles with multiple sclerosis.
- ▪CAR T therapy reprograms immune cells to target and eliminate harmful cells in autoimmune diseases.
- ▪The first CAR T cancer treatment was approved by the FDA in 2017, leading to long-term remission for many patients.
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At age 49, Jan Janisch-Hanzlik’s multiple sclerosis was destroying her freedom to live the life she wanted. She gave up her active nursing job for a desk role. Frequent falls made her afraid to carry her grandchildren. She had to move to a bigger house to make room for the wheelchair she feared she might end up needing full-time.Even the best available medication wasn’t improving Janisch-Hanzlik’s symptoms, and she worried they’d only get worse. So when she learned about a trial of CAR T-cell therapy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, close to the city of Blair where she lives, she phoned the clinic every other month until they were ready to enroll her as the first patient.Originally designed to target and wipe out cancer by reprogramming the patient’s immune cells,…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Medscape.
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