Stem-cell transplant works on lupus
By Nathan Seppa
In the autoimmune disease known as lupus, immune cells fail to distinguish good guys from bad. They attack cells of their own body as if they were foreign. Vital organs can take a beating.
In an attempt to thwart such self-destruction, scientists have removed stem cells—progenitors of many cell types including immune cells—from the bone marrow of seven lupus patients and reinserted them later. The improvements to the immune system are surprising, the scientists report in the Aug. 26 Lancet. Six of the seven patients appear to be cured.