New Gene Therapy Reported to Help With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis patients may soon be able to receive anti-inflammatory injections once every few months for the treatment of their condition, according to researchers at University Hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Phase I clinical trials of a new gene therapy have shown that it has no serious side effects and that it is a feasible approach for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, according to Dr. Axel Baltzer, co-author of the study.

The treatment was developed by Dr. C.H. Evans of Harvard Medical School, who conducted phase I trials on nine patients. The German researchers have completed phase 1 trials on 3 patients.

All 12 patients were suffering from advanced rheumatoid arthritis and were treated with the same basic procedure. Cells were taken from an arthritic joint, cultured and genetically altered to produce interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, an anti-inflammatory protein. After several weeks, the treated cells were injected into two joints. Two placebos, one containing non-treated cells and one containing saline, were injected into two other joints.

The U.S. patients, who were all scheduled for joint replacement, began producing the desired anti-inflammatory protein for at least 4 weeks prior to their surgery. The German study found the injections to be effective for 6 weeks, until the patients underwent surgery.

Phase II studies on the new gene therapy are slated to begin later in 2002.

Other sources: University Hospital, Dusseldorf