Cancer drug may help cure rheumatoid arthritis
Published: October 2, 2006
Rheumatoid arthritis can be cured with a potent cancer drug called Gleevec, a study conducted by the University of Stanford found.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, chronic autoimmune disorder, characterised by inflammation of the lining of the joints. It affects more than 2 million Americans; up to half of those with the disease are disabled after 15 years due to disfigured joints.
Although standard therapy for rheumatoid arthritis currently includes agents that suppresses the immune system, many patients do not benefit from such treatments.
They do not get adequate reduction in the symptoms and signs of disease; they may also continue to have damage to their joints or develop side effects that make continued use of such therapies impossible.
In an effort to find a new treatment, Ricardo Paniagua, a MD/PhD student and the study`s first author, said that they looked at every drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“It was the combination of rational selection and serendipity that we found that Gleevec worked better than anything else,” said Paniagua, who works in Robinson`s laboratory at the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center of the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
In their study, Gleevec almost completely prevented the development of the rheumatoid arthritis-like disease in mice. The drug also halted the progression of established disease, significantly reducing the amount of inflammation and bone destruction around the joints. The researchers also tested Gleevec on the cells of human rheumatoid arthritis patients and found that it reduced the processes associated with inflammation and abnormal growth in the joints.
“We were very surprised that Gleevec worked as well as it did. It just seemed too simple. The results are especially encouraging since the drug is already FDA-approved, and has relatively few side effects,” said Robinson. ”
However, although the study showed that Gleevec worked well in mice, the researchers cautioned against doctors using Gleevec for treating rheumatoid arthritis until clinical trials are completed demonstrating its effectiveness and safety for humans.
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