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autologous blood and marrow transplantation - Blog Science ...

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Autologous Stem Cell Therapy in Autoimmune Disease:<br />

Follow-Up of Cases <strong>and</strong> Issues Raised by the<br />

EBMT/EULAR Databank<br />

Paul Hosier, Alois Gratwohl, Alan Tyndall<br />

Departments of Rheumatology (P.H., A.T.) <strong>and</strong> Hematology (A.G.), University of<br />

Basel Medical School, Switzerl<strong>and</strong><br />

INTRODUCTION<br />

In severe autoimmune diseases (ADs), conventional therapy can be insufficient<br />

to halt progression, organ damage, <strong>and</strong> death. Side effects are common, especially<br />

bone <strong>marrow</strong> toxicity from cytotoxic agents <strong>and</strong> cumulative glucocorticosteroid<br />

effects on bone, skin, <strong>blood</strong> vessels, <strong>and</strong> other organs. Over the past two decades,<br />

several reports of individual cases <strong>and</strong> small series noted an improvement in coincidental<br />

AD when bone <strong>marrow</strong> <strong>transplantation</strong> was performed for a conventional<br />

indication such as malignancy or aplastic anemia. 1<br />

This raised the possibility that<br />

bone <strong>marrow</strong> <strong>transplantation</strong> could be an option for AD alone, a concept supported<br />

by animal models. 2<br />

Specifically, the reduced morbidity of <strong>autologous</strong> stem cell<br />

<strong>transplantation</strong> (autoSCT) together with the realization that the middle- <strong>and</strong> longterm<br />

morbidity of severe ADs is considerable, allowed this approach to be<br />

considered in the setting of ADs.<br />

The diffuse form of systemic sclerosis (SSc), especially when rapidly<br />

progressive <strong>and</strong> with involvement of internal organs, <strong>and</strong> the limited form with<br />

pulmonary hypertension, have a bad prognosis. 3<br />

In both forms of SSc, treatment of<br />

the autoimmune process with conventional immunosuppression <strong>and</strong> supportive<br />

measures has been of limited benefit in severe cases. 4<br />

We therefore performed SCT<br />

with <strong>autologous</strong> reconstitution in two patients primarily to treat their AD, to<br />

achieve more substantial immunosuppression.<br />

FOLLOW-UP OF CASES<br />

A 47-year-old female patient with limited SSc 3<br />

developed dyspnea on exertion,<br />

which was attributed to pulmonary hypertension. Her functional status continued to<br />

deteriorate in spite of conventional therapy with corticosteroids <strong>and</strong> monthly pulses<br />

of cyclophosphamide. By the time her estimated mean pulmonary arterial pressure<br />

(PAP) had increased to 60 mmHg, she was short of breath while walking slowly on<br />

472

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