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Stem cell transplantation may help reset compromised immune systems. About half of patients with severe lupus who do not respond to standard treatment and who undergo autologous stem cell transplants to boost their immune systems have shown substantial improvement after several years, according to preliminary research published in the February 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

A multi-system autoimmune disease, lupus can lead to significant illness and death among patients with active disease. Those who undergo autologous transplantation—using the body’s own stem cells—usually have not responded well to immunosuppressive medical therapies. The transplantation procedure includes eliminating a patient’s defective lymphocytes, often through chemotherapy, followed by an infusion of blood cell–producing stem cells. The hope is that the patient’s own cells stimulate the growth of a new and healthy immune system.

Headed by Richard Burt, MD, professor of medicine and chief of immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases, the study focused on whether autologous stem cell transplantation could be performed safely in patients with lupus that has been resistant to other therapies and whether the results justify a definitive randomized trial. The researchers found that 48 patients who underwent stem cell transplantation had an overall five-year survival rate of 84 percent. The longest continuous duration of remission has been 7.5 years. “In lupus treatment, we often reach a wall where we have nothing more to offer,” says Dr. Burt in a Chicago Tribune article published February 1. “What we’ve done is hopefully moved the wall further away.”