Cancer Drug May Prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis

In a study published in the September 2006 issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation, Ricardo Paniagua and his team at Stanford University School of Medicine treated mice bred to develop rheumatoid arthritis with Gleevec.

During the study, the team administered Gleevec to mice with an RA-like disease that the mice had been genetically modified to develop. Half of the specimens had already developed the disease, while the other half had not yet. Gleevec was found to inhibit the function of many of the immune cells that contribute to disease in patients with RA. In further lab tests, Gleevec was shown to affect some cells and cell signaling from tissue samples taken from the joints of a specimen with the RA-like disease. This interference with cellular signally effectively inhibited the proliferation of the cells.

At the end of the study, the team concluded that Gleevec prevented the onset of disease in the mice that had not yet developed it at the beginning of the study, and impeded the development of those in which the disease had already established.

Although the results are preliminary, Paniagua et al. said this study provides a basis for future clinical trials to determine whether Gleevec might be effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis and other types of inflammatory diseases in humans patients.

Article References
Gleevec May Treat and Perhaps Even Prevent RA, Study in Mice Shows, site accessed on 9/26/2006.