Subject: Adult Stem Cells Treat Rare Skin Disorder
Source: Reuters Health; August 17, 2001; Archives of Dermatology 2001;137:1071-1072.

Adult Stem Cells Treat Rare Skin Disorder

New York, NY -- A man with a rare, potentially fatal skin disorder that
was so severe that he could no longer eat is now symptom-free after
receiving a transplant of his own adult stem cells, doctors in Texas
report. The result is the latest of many such reports that show the
potential for adult stem cells to be used in place of life-destroying
embryonic stem cell research

The disorder, scleromyxedema, is similar to a chronic connective tissue
disease called scleroderma, which thickens the skin and causes it to
become shiny and stiff. The cause of the condition is unknown, and
treatment for the disease is often ineffective.

Six years before, the patient, a 46-year-old white man, had developed
itchy spots on his hands that disappeared after treatment with oral and
topical steroids. Three years later, the abnormalities returned as waxy,
thickened skin. At that time the patient was diagnosed with
scleromyxedema.

Despite treatment with steroids and other medications, the disease rapidly
progressed during the next 2 years. Eventually, the man's face took on a
``cobblestone'' appearance, and he was not able to close his eyelids
completely.

The side effects of two drugs used to treat the disorder--etanercept and
interferon alfa-2b--were too much for the patient to handle, so doctors
treated him with a therapy called photopheresis. This process involves
exposing a patient's white blood cells to ultraviolet light and then
returning them to the bloodstream. This restored the normal tightness of
his skin, but the benefits were temporary.

By then, the disease had progressed to the point that the man was not able
to eat and lost a significant amount of weight.

At that point, a team of doctors at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston led by Dr. Adrienne M. Feasel performed what is
known as an autologous stem cell transplant on the patient.

After collecting stem cells from the man's bone marrow, the researchers
wiped out his immune system with chemotherapy. They then transplanted the
stem cells back into the man to reconstruct his immune system.

The approach seems to have worked, according to the report in the August
issue of the journal Archives of Dermatology . Three months after the
transplant, the cobblestone appearance of the man's face had disappeared
and he was able to close his eyes and open his mouth. Since the procedure,
he has gained more than 25 pounds.

``To our knowledge, this is the first report of treating scleromyxedema
with transplantation, and additional investigations would be helpful for
determining the response rate for progressive scleromyxedema,'' Feasel and
her colleagues report.