Summary:
Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) can be performed in a variety of refractory autoimmune diseases. A retrospective multicenter analysis is presented to evaluate safety and efficacy of ASCT for refractory juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In all, 18 of the 34 patients (53%) with a follow-up of 12 to 60 months achieved a drug-free complete remission. There were three cases (9%) of transplant-related mortality and two cases of disease-related mortality (6%). Infectious complications were seen frequently. We propose adjustments in future protocols to reduce this mortality in this high-risk patient group.
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Wulffraat, N., Vastert, B. & Tyndall, A. Treatment of refractory autoimmune diseases with autologous stem cell transplantation: focus on juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Bone Marrow Transplant 35 (Suppl 1), S27–S29 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704840
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704840
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