GAEM Foundation finished the first phase of its clinical trial of a pioneering technique to treat Multiple Sclerosis and Optic Neuromyelitis
The clinical trial “Dendritic Cell Specific Antigen Therapy”, a worldwide pioneering technique that aims to modulate the defenses of the Multiple Sclerosis and Optic Neuromyelitis patients, has culminated its first phase, focused on verifying the safety and absence of moderate or severe adverse effects.
It is the first clinical trial that includes patients with Optic Neuromyelitis (ONM), considered by its incidence (5-10 people out of 100,000), as a rare disease.
In 2018, the trial will be extended to 32 patients, and later on, phases 2 and 3 will be performed, prior to the approval of the treatment for clinical use.
This first phase began in 2016 and was carried out by a team of researchers from IDIBAPS / Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, under the direction of Dr. Pablo Villoslada.
In this first clinical study a total of 12 patients were included, 8 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and 4 with Optic Neuromyelitis (NMO), with a degree of disability between 3.0 and 8.5 of the Expanded State Scale of Disability (EDSS).
The research, driven by GAEM Foundation and subsidized by Obra Social “la Caixa”, is developed at IDIBAPS (Hospital Clínico de Barcelona), and represents a breakthrough for the Scientific Community and for patients of MS and ONM, since it is a pioneering technique worldwide that seeks to achieve greater efficiency and minimize side effects.
The specific antigen therapy with dendritic cells aims to modulate the patient’s defenses in a very specific and selective way, to stop the inflammation that causes the pathology without altering the rest of the defenses.
