5 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This phase II trial studies the side effects and how well carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan together with antithymocyte globulin before a stem cell transplant works in treating patients with autoimmune neurologic disease that did not respond to previous therapy. In autoimmune neurological diseases, the patient's own immune system 'attacks' the nervous system which might include the brain/spinal cord and/or the peripheral nerves. Giving high-dose chemotherapy, including carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan, and antithymocyte globulin, before a stem cell transplant weakens the immune system and may help stop the immune system from 'attacking' a patient's nervous system. When the patient's own (autologous) stem cells are infused into the patient they help the bone marrow make red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets so the blood counts can improve.
A subset of autoimmune diseases (ADs) in children and young adults are life-threatening and unresponsive to conventional treatments. In these patients, the delivery of high dose immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) offers a treatment strategy capable of purging the pathogenic, autoreactive immune system and an opportunity for "immune reset." This strategy has been used in adults across a myriad of indications with evidence for efficacy. This study proposes a pilot study to evaluate this therapeutic strategy in children and young adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), two potentially life threatening autoimmune diseases that may response to this therapeutic approach.
OBJECTIVES: I. Determine whether there is prompt engraftment after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation using filgrastim (G-CSF) mobilization in patients with life threatening autoimmune diseases. II. Determine the kinetics of T- and B-cell immune reconstitution after a combination of timed plasmapheresis, high dose cyclophosphamide and total lymphoid irradiation, and posttransplant immunosuppression with cyclosporine in these patients. III. Determine whether this treatment regimen beneficially influences the clinical course of these patients.
OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the safety and long term complications of total body irradiation in combination with cyclophosphamide, anti-thymocyte globulin, and autologous CD34-selected peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation in children with refractory autoimmune disorders. II. Determine the efficacy of this treatment regimen in these patients. III. Determine the reconstitution of immunity after autologous CD34-selected PBSC transplantation in these patients. IV. Determine engraftment of autologous CD34-selected PBSC in these patients.
Non-myeloablative regimens (as the investigators use herein) are designed to maximally suppress the immune system without destruction of the bone marrow stem cell compartment. When using a non-myeloablative regimen recovery occurs without infusion of stem cells and the stem cells are autologous. While not necessary for recovery, stem cell infusion may shorten the interval of neutropenia and attendant complications. Thus in reality there is no transplant only an autologous supportive blood product. Based on our encouraging results of non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, for patients with multiple sclerosis and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, the investigators will investigate the role of non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with SPS who require assistance to ambulate.