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Rheumatoid arthritis and cancer have long been a challenge for medical scientists around the world. A team of Korean scientists could be about to change that. Led by Dr. Kwon Byoung-se of Ulsan University, the team will begin clinical trials of a new treatment next month.
Dr. Kwon and his team have discovered a substance named 4-1BB which controls T-cells -- the cells that attack rogue viruses in our body. Some T-cells have a major defect in their immunological function and sometimes confuse healthy cells with viruses, often leading to developments of arthritis and aplastic anemia.
Kwon's team claims to have discovered a way to use 4-1BB to make T-cells kill abnormal cells only. "We used two groups of monkeys with rheumatoid arthritis and found that the group treated with reinforced 4-1BB was completely cured," Kwon says. He says 4-1BB can increase T-cells' power a whopping 200 times when attacking cancer cells. And all this is achievable with relative safety. "It selectively increases or suppresses the function of certain immunocytes, so it doesn't affect the overall immune system of our body, which means minimal side effects."
The scientist is set to sign a contract with the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb early next month and begin clinical trials on patients with arthritis, melanoma and ovarian cancer. If successful, Kwon says the new medicine will be available by 2009.
Arirang News
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