For the first time in Belgium, researchers at Ghent University Hospital have treated a patient with multiple sclerosis using CAR-T cell therapy.
This is an advanced form of immunotherapy involving genetically modified immune cells derived from the individual.
CAR-T cells are altered to identify and destroy defective white blood cells, opening new possibilities for treating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
The treatment is part of an international clinical study undertaken by the neurology and haematology departments.
“CAR-T cell therapy is already an established treatment for blood cancers, but we believe it could also be effective against multiple sclerosis," Professor Guy Laureys, a neurologist involved in the study, noted. "The first patient has responded well, and their disease relapses are currently under control.”
The patient treated suffers from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, a form that includes alternating periods of flare-ups and remission. A second patient, diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis, is scheduled to receive treatment later this autumn.
Professor Tessa Kerre, a haematologist on the research team, described this as “the beginning of a new chapter” for CAR-T cell therapy, which is now being tested for autoimmune diseases as well.
