There's exciting early research happening in the area of cell therapy for myasthenia gravis! While traditional stem cell therapy isn't yet a standard treatment, a related approach called CAR T-cell therapy is showing real promise.
Here's what the early research looks like so far:
- A therapy called Descartes-08 was tested Show Full Answer
There's exciting early research happening in the area of cell therapy for myasthenia gravis! While traditional stem cell therapy isn't yet a standard treatment, a related approach called CAR T-cell therapy is showing real promise.
Here's what the early research looks like so far:
- A therapy called Descartes-08 was tested in a small phase 2 trial
- Participants received six weekly outpatient infusions — no chemotherapy required
- Over 80% of participants saw meaningful improvement in their MG symptoms
- These benefits lasted at least one year after a single course of treatment How does it work? A person's own immune T-cells are collected, modified in a lab to target the problematic cells involved in MG, and then returned to the body to do their work.
This is still early-stage research, so it's not yet widely available. Talking to a neurologist about whether any clinical trials might be a good fit is a great next step. The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America also maintains an updated list of active MG clinical trials worth checking out.
August 7