Overview:
Our immune system is truly incredible! It diligently safeguards us from diseases and infections, expertly identifying harmful foreign cells while preserving our healthy ones. It’s a remarkable defence that keeps us strong and healthy! Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system mistakenly targets the body’s own cells and tissues, leading to damage. Understanding this helps us develop better care and treatments. The immune system can sometimes misidentify certain parts of the body, such as the nervous system as if they were foreign invaders. In response, it may produce autoantibodies that target and attack healthy cells.
Autoimmune disorders are chronic conditions that often require lifelong management of their symptoms. Some common autoimmune diseases include Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), and Systemic Lupus Erythromatosus (SLE).
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) occurs when the protective coating around nerve cells in the central nervous system is damaged. This damage leads to slow transmission of messages between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body.
Systemic Lupus erythematosus (SLE), also known as ‘LUPUS’, is a condition in which autoantibodies attack various tissues in the body, including those in the skin, blood, joints, brain, heart, lungs and kidneys.
Autoimmune disorders cannot be completely cured but can be effectively managed and controlled with medications and advanced treatment methods. These disorders are diagnosed by assessing symptoms, medical history, and specific signs from the immune system that indicate the type and causes of the disorder. Similarly, the treatment varies depending on the specific autoimmune disorder. Common treatment methods include pain relievers, anti-inflammatory medications, immunosuppressants, and physical therapy. Consulting experts on effective symptom management and important considerations is beneficial.
Features:
Living with autoimmune disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Systemic Lupus Erythromatosus (SLE), or Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) can be incredibly challenging. It’s important to recognize the struggles faced by those affected, as these conditions can profoundly impact everyday life. Your experiences and feelings are valid, and seeking support can make a meaningful difference.
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS): This autoimmune disease affects the brain and spinal cord when the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin cells. These cells serve as protective sheaths that surround the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Damage to these cells disrupts the signals nerves send to the body, affecting functions like movement, vision, and sensation.Multiple sclerosis can manifest through various signs, such as vision changes, numbness, fatigue, muscle weakness, cognitive challenges, and bladder irregularities. Episodes of remission can occur when treatment successfully alleviates symptoms, highlighting the importance of effective medical care.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune condition that leads to swelling, stiffness, and pain in the joints. It often affects the fingers, wrists, hands, ankles, knees, toes, and feet. Inflammation in the joints damages the cartilage, which serves as a shock absorber, leading to deformities in these joints. The bones begin to erode, which can lead to joint fusion. In addition to affecting joints, Rheumatoid Arthritis can also impact the skin, mouth, lungs, eyes, and heart. This condition typically develops between the ages of 30 and 60. Starting treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis quickly after diagnosis is essential to prevent permanent joint damage. Initially, the treatment aims to minimize joint pain and swelling while improving joint function. The long-term objective is to prevent further damage to the joints.
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE): This autoimmune disorder can lead to widespread inflammation and damage to tissues in the joints, heart, skin, lungs, brain, blood, and kidneys. The symptoms and severity of Lupus vary among individuals, depending on the organs and systems affected and damaged.
Diagnosing Lupus can be challenging due to its impact on various organs and diverse symptoms like fever, swollen glands, mouth sores, seizures, anaemia, and heart or kidney problems.
Understanding this complexity is essential! While autoimmune disorders can’t be cured, with proactive management and treatment, we can significantly reduce flare-ups and protect our organs from serious damage. Let’s embrace this journey together!
Treatments:
How can Bone Marrow Transplantation Help?
Bone Marrow Transplants, also called stem cell transplants, are a standard treatment method for various blood disorders and cancers. The procedure involves replacing cancerous, damaged, or abnormal cells with healthy cells. Most transplants involve peripheral blood stem cells. Bone marrow transplants are typically used to treat blood cancers, some types of tumors, blood disorders, and autoimmune disorders.
There are two types of bone marrow or stem cell transplants: Allogeneic, using donated stem cells, and Autologous, using one’s healthy cells. Autologous stem cell transplants are commonly used to treat autoimmune disorders. While Bone Marrow Transplantation can be an effective alternative for patients with autoimmune diseases, it’s important to note that it is a complex and intensive procedure.
There are potential risks and side effects, including infection and organ damage. However, with careful monitoring and management, these risks can be minimized. The idea behind Bone Marrow Transplantation is to entirely reset the immune system and attempt to eradicate autoimmune disorders.
Bone Marrow Transplant for Autoimmune Diseases at Ramaiah Memorial Hospital
At Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional care and expertise in performing Bone Marrow Transplants for patients suffering from autoimmune disorders. Our specialized team of medical professionals utilizes advanced techniques and state-of-the-art technology to ensure the highest standards of treatment and patient safety.
We understand the complexities of autoimmune conditions and work closely with each patient to develop personalized treatment plans, providing comprehensive support throughout their healing journey. With a commitment to excellence, we strive to improve the quality of life for our patients and help them regain their health.
We focus on conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Refractory Rheumatoid Arthritis (RRA), and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), especially after relapses from other standard treatments, to ensure our patients receive the best possible care and treatment. This treatment often involves a supportive hospital stay of three to four weeks, where patients can feel confident and reassured in the expert care they will receive.
At our centre, the myeloablative transplant procedure for Multiple Sclerosis offers a unique advantage. This method uses higher chemotherapy doses than non-myeloablative transplants to better suppress the patient’s overactive immune response. Consequently, these patients’ neurological disabilities are likely to stabilize over time, greatly enhancing their quality of life. The potential for an improved quality of life instils a strong sense of encouragement and unwavering hope in our patients.
In myeloablative transplants for Multiple Sclerosis, we employ necessary conditioning and medications that effectively destroy the patient’s overactive immune system, thereby stabilizing the neurological condition. During the transplantation process, we check the organs’ function and determine if the patient is suitable for the transplant. Stem cells should be collected from the patient’s peripheral veins without any invasive procedures, stored separately, and cryo-preserved in a deep freezer to ensure they remain viable for later use.
High doses of chemotherapy (called BEAM conditioning) is followed by anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) to suppress the patient’s immune system. Since the good cells also get destroyed in the process, the previously collected stem cells are re-infused into the patient’s body. During this period of chemotherapy followed by re-infusion, patients are usually stable but may experience side effects after 10-12 days of the chemotherapy. Patients may also require blood and platelet transfusions to support their blood count.
The patients start showing signs of recovery after the re-infused stem cells begin to function, blood counts increase, and the side effects resolve. The patient is then ready to go home. Our dedicated Hematology / Oncology and BMT team passionately supports our patients, following up regularly to ensure they’re recovering well, enjoying nutritious meals, and staying healthy and infection-free.
Ramaiah Memorial Hospital has a long history of treating various hematological disorders through Bone Marrow Transplants. At Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, we have been performing advanced procedures for patients with haematological cancers and bone marrow failure syndromes, in both adult and paediatric settings.
While bone marrow transplants were primarily developed to treat haematological disorders, our work encompasses a wider range of treatments. Auto transplant for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a new kind of treatment that we have gained expertise in the last few years. Our objective is to increase treatment accessibility for more patients with multiple sclerosis, enabling them to benefit significantly from this innovative therapy.
Specialists
Dr. Santhosh Devadas
Medical Oncology Consultant Medical Oncology MBBS, MD(Internal Medicine), DM (Medical Oncology),ECMO
Clinical Excellence
-
17
Years of experience
-
500 +
Doctors
-
2.5 million +
Patients Served
-
83000 +
Surgeries Performed