Treat an autoimmune disease

People have warned about “putting the cart before the horse” since at least 1520 — that’s the earliest written record of the saying. Time for a new version.

These days it looks like it’s very smart to “put the CAR T before the immune system!” Car Tcell therapy is a new cancer treatment that works by extracting, modifying and then reintroducing disease-fighting T cells from your immune system so they’re programmed to attack specific targets. It’s used to treat recurrent diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, multiple myeloma and a few other cancers.

Now researchers have found that CAR T-cell therapy can trigger sustained remission in lupus patients.

This is huge. There are over 80 identified autoimmune diseases, such as Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, affecting 24 million Americans of all ages. Unfortunately, we don’t really know why they happen (reaction to a virus? genetic preprogramming? environmental toxins?) or how to cure them. That may be changing.

The new research, published in Nature Medicine, describes the amazing outcome when researchers gave CAR Tcell therapy to a small group of folks with difficult-to-manage lupus. After three months, they went into remission and were still symptom-free eight to 17 months later. The next step: trying the therapy in other autoimmune diseases.

So, if you have an autoimmune disease that’s difficult to manage, ask your physician to keep an eye out for clinical trials you might be qualified for. This could be a revolutionary way for millions of people who struggle with these conditions to live longer and younger.

Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. His next book is “The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow.” Do you have a topic Dr. Mike should cover in a future column? If so, please email questions@ GreatAgeReboot.com.