Can a Shot Cure RA?
Imagine if one shot could cure your RA. That may not be so far off, if a study in mice pans out for humans.
Researchers injected mice with a vaccine aimed at macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) – an early stepping-stone on the pathway to inflammation. The vaccinated mice produced antibodies to fight MIF, and those antibodies then shut down other key inflammatory players, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a). That led to an improvement in arthritis symptoms.
“Once the antibody to MIF is raised, it will stay in the patient’s blood,” says lead study author Yoshikazu Koyama, PhD, of Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine in Sapporo, Japan. “One injection could allow for long-term remission,” he says.
So far, no side effects have been detected.
Still, Koyama says there is a tremendous amount of work to do before the vaccine may become reality for humans. But he’s keeping his eye on the prize. The vaccine one day may prevent RA in those at highest risk. “We believe it could happen,” he says. “That’s why we keep going.”
Source: Arthritis & Rheumatism; Vol. 56, No. 2
