Abatacept May Benefit Children With Common Variable Immune Deficiency

By Dr Deepu

Medscape (7/31, Kelly) reports that “enhanced understanding of immune system protein regulation led to the discovery of what might be the first effective treatment for a devastating genetic autoimmune disorder in children, and it involves a drug already approved for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA).” The study’s “senior author Michael B. Jordan, MD...told Medscape Medical News that the researchers were both surprised and gratified to find that abatacept had ‘major positive impact’ on three patients with common variable immune deficiency (CVID) who were treated for 5 or more years.” The “treatment appeared particularly effective at reversing the devastating lymphocytic interstitial lung disease caused by CVID.” The findings were published in Science. Bernice Lo, PhD, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was one of the researchers.