Autologous bone marrow transplantation as a treatment for autoimmune disease: mechanisms and results

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by immune response against self antigens. One of the current research interests in this field is oriented toward development of tolerance. One of the newest options in the search for tolerance is autologous bone marrow transplantation: a variant of bone marrow transplant in which the patient's own hematopoietic stem cells are reinfused after myeloablative therapy. The idea of using bone marrow transplant in treatment of autoimmune diseases derived from observing remission in autoimmune diseases in patients transplanted due to coexisting neoplastic disease. Although an isolated initial report of bone marrow transplant as treatment for autoimmune disease questioned the utility of this procedure, over all, results are encouraging. To compile information in a programmed and systematic manner, it is necessary to send more patients in all stages of immune diseases to specialized centers to be included in large multicenter randomized trials. In time, the role for this procedure in autoimmune diseases will become clear.