Study shows self-stem cell transplant offers promise for severe lupus

An experimental &to=http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/14900_.html' target=_blank>stem-cell transplant shows promise for patients with severe lupus, according to a study released Tuesday.

Among 48 patients with severe lupus who had the drastic treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 33 patients have had no disease symptoms for up to more than seven years following their transplants, said Northwestern's Dr. Richard Burt, who led the study.

One of those patients, Edjuana Ross, had been in out of hospitals, battling the disease that attacked her skin, brain at heart. At 33, after a stem-cell transplant from her own bone marrow, her illness is in remission for the first time since her diagnosis shortly after high school graduation.

"I'm just trying to get used to being well, and it's a very weird feeling," the Park Forest, Illinois woman said.

Six patients in the study died from causes unrelated to the treatment.