This just in!

[A66eyroad]

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/18/15246299-new-approach-could-treat-ms-other-autoimmune-diseases?lite

Article on new approach for treating autoimmune disease!

[Ark mom]

I read this yesterday with great interest!  This is so cool--a treatment that could potentially be a cure for AI diseases.  It seems amazingly overwhelming to try to figure out which auto-antibodies are involved in each disease, in each individual case, even, like sero-negative sjogrens.  Who knows which auto-antibodies I have?!  Still, this is an amazing novel approach!  It comforts my soul, knowing that if my children develop a disease like this, that perhaps there I'll be a cure for them, that they won't have to suffer like this. 

[jazzlover]

Let's just hope this treatment idea does not disappear like so many potential cures for cancer have.

Sounds really promising!

[Joe S.]

This approach has been talked about for a number of years. I did not read the full article. Are they finally doing human trials?

[A66eyroad]

I think it says Phase I showed that it was safe to start human trials.

[Joe S.]

Thanks, I guess I will weight a few more years.

[iraisin]

That is an interesting article and hopeful for sure. I wonder how they would treat sjogren's, since it's systemic and affects nearly all systems?

[artsyamerican]

OMG this is great!! I will be first in line to volunteer for the treatment!!!

[quietdynamics]

A while ago I heard an interview on NPR on scientific trends. The scientist talked about Nanotechnology.
He mentioned that soon its used will have us looking at chemo; the way we now view when Drs. used leeches.

Nanotechnology is a field of research at the crossroads of biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and medicine. Design of multifunctional nanoparticles capable of targeting cancer cells, delivering and releasing drugs in a regulated manner, and detecting cancer cells with enormous specificity and sensitivity are just some examples of the potential application of nanotechnology to oncological diseases.

Current trends in the application of nanoparticles in drug delivery.
"The spotlight has now turned onto nanoparticles (NPs) as a versatile and multifaceted platform for the delivery of drugs. NPs offer better pharmacokinetic properties, controlled and sustained release, and targeting of specific cells, tissues or organs"
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21254971

MRI: Quantum computing meets medicine http://www.futurity.org/top-stories/mri-quantum-computing-meets-medicine/

[astarah]

This is wonderful news! Hopefully human trials are going to happen soon.

I agree with quietdynamics. I've often felt that the way we currently solve medical problems is like living in the dark ages. Most treatments help one thing and break a dozen others. There are so many exciting things going on w/the new medical research as our understanding of molecular biology increases. It's exciting to see things changing during our lifetime.