ScienceDaily (Mar. 26, 2010) — By enhancing the activity of immune cells that protect against runaway inflammation, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center may have found a novel therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. In a new study published in the March 25, 2010 online edition of Science, the researchers reveal how treating these immune cells with an investigational drug wards off inflammation by holding a particular enzyme at bay.
"This is an unusual mechanism that could provide a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory diseases like Crohn's disease," says Michael Dustin, PhD, the Irene Diamond Professor of Immunology and professor of pathology at NYU Langone Medical Center.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100325143049.htm