cure for RA in 5 years?????? | Arthritis Information

 

In the Daily Mail today:

Jab to cure arthritis 'to be available within five years

A jab to cure rheumatoid arthritis could be on sale within five years, researchers say.

Just a single dose of the vaccine, developed by British scientists, could stop the devastating disease in its tracks.

Researchers are poised to test the injection on humans for the first time and, if successful, will move on to full-scale clinical trials.

The jab works by 'reprogramming' white blood cells to stop patients' immune systems attacking their own body.

There are worries that it would need to be 'customised' to each patient  -  potentially pushing up the price to £25,000 a dose.

However, if it is effective  -  and easily produced on a large scale  -  it could still secure approval from the NHS rationing body and therefore bring relief to 350,000 British sufferers of the condition.

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most common of some 200 different types of arthritis, and the only drugs currently available have a range of unpleasant and potentially dangerous side-effects.

If given early enough, a single jab could be able to both stop and reverse the symptoms of the disease

Professor Alan Silman of the Arthritis Research Campaign, which is funding the experiments, said: 'This is an important potential cure.

'If it works it could reverse the disease and stop further episodes.'

He added that if given early enough in the disease, a single jab could be able to both stop and reverse the symptoms.

In other words, it could be a cure.

He said: 'It's experimental but why it is fairly exciting is that it is like an immunisation  -  the idea being that if it fulfils its promise, one treatment will be it.

'You wouldn't need to have any more treatment. You are talking about re-educating the immune system that has gone wrong  -  with most standard treatments you are treating the consequences.'

The Newcastle University scientists have created a cocktail of chemicals, steroids and vitamins for the jab.

These turn white blood cells into 'generals' capable of damping down the immune response.

The cells are injected back into the patient's joints, with one injection potentially being enough to halt the symptoms in the treated area.

A similar technique has been used in cancer research.

The Newcastle team will test the jab in eight people with the condition, with a view to carrying out larger trials.


I saw this on GMTV , now just need to have NICE to approve funding!!!Hi Pin
It does sound pdg doesn't it!
In five years time I expect the NICE thing will be even worse.... 
Just hope I can hang in there for another 5 years, seems like a lifetime away.
I suspect if the trials go well, they will speed up implementation.

Just hope you find something that the NICE people will let you have before
then.

....... By the way isn't our summer just awful!!    About to go on a camping holiday
in Southern England for a week and am packing all the rain gear.

Anna



A similar article was in our local paper today...it sure does sound promising!