Sustained benefit from combined plasmapheresis and allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells transplantation therapy in systemic sclerosis

Background Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease involving the skin and several internal organs. Most therapies available for this disease are symptomatic. Given the difficulty in treating SSc, we conducted this study to investigate the effect of combined plasmapheresis (PE) and allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells transplantation (MSCT) therapy on SSc. Methods Fourteen patients underwent three repeated PE treatments with subsequent pulse cyclophosphamide on days 1, 3 and 5. Patients received a single MSCT (1 × 106 cells/kg of body weight) on day 8. During follow up, evaluations perfo... Mehr ...