Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
2172757 Cytotherapy 2010 6 Pages PDF
Abstract

Background aimsAplastic anemia (AA) is a rare but potentially life-threatening disease. There is a need for the development of new, more effective and less toxic therapies for treating AA. The safety and efficacy of an immune cell-based therapy for AA was examined.MethodsThirty-one patients with idiopathic AA received intravenous infusions of ex vivo-activated autologous and allogeneic immune cells at least once a week. Response to therapy was assessed by symptoms, transfusion dependency, blood counts, bone marrow biopsy and survival.ResultsOf the 31 patients, 25 (81%) had either complete (11, 35%) or partial (14, 45%) responses, while six (19%) showed no response to the therapy. The overall survival rates at 3 years were 90%.ConclusionsThe therapy described appears to be safe and effective. The data from this pilot study suggest that a larger, controlled study is warranted.

Related Topics
Life Sciences Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology Cell Biology
Authors
, , , , , , , ,