When this was posted before someone who followed it fairly closely and others like it, updated the thread with info because the article was behind current info. They had already stopped the trials for MS because it wasn't working. So they began to just focus on one other, the Crohn's, I believe. Figuring if they got one to work, they could go back to the others and get them on the right track.

I have MS, and while this is a new approach, there have been so many articles about treatments that end up going nowhere after the first excitement. So it is still very early to get hopes up.

Hope can be a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane, as Red said.

[–] kromem 56 points 11 months ago

Is it possible that other person was just full of shit?

Here was an update posted on Sept 12th, 2023 from the company behind the trials regarding the MS trials:

Anokion has completed patient enrollment early in the second and final MAD cohort of its MoveS-it (Multiple Sclerosis Study of ANK-700 to Assess Safety and Immune Tolerance) clinical trial to evaluate ANK-700 for the treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis. MoveS-it is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study evaluating ANK-700 for the treatment of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). MS is a demyelinating disease of the CNS, in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheath in the brain and spinal cord. RRMS is the most common type of MS, characterized by recurring episodes of new or worsening symptoms. Anokion has designed ANK-700 to re-educate the immune system by inducing antigen-specific tolerance to myelin-based autoantigens to reduce neuroinflammation in the brain and spinal cord.

Safety data from both the SAD and MAD cohorts supports that ANK-700 is safe and well-tolerated at all dose levels tested through the dose escalation period. Further, preliminary biomarker data from the MAD cohorts displays trends in antigen-specific immune tolerance and evidence of bystander suppression to related myelin antigens, which is critical to treating complex autoimmune diseases like MS.

The study will continue with a 12-month safety follow-up expected to complete in the first half of 2024. Anokion anticipates reporting full results from its MoveS-it clinical trial in the second half of 2024.

Source

This says that the single dose (SAD) phase 1 trial which began in 2020 was completed and they moved on to the second multiple ascending dose trial (MAD) for MS which completed enrollment and expect results in 2024. And that the preliminary data from the first MAD trial indicates therapeutic response.

And the press release talks about how they've moved on to a phase 2 trial for its use for celiacs (the initial trial use case). And then on Oct 12th they announced they will be presenting data from their phase 1 for celiacs at a conference.

A week after the announcement quoted above they released the news about their peer reviewed paper mentioning the early success in both (what likely inspired OP's article), saying:

We have now observed our approach play out in the clinic with early data from our lead programs in celiac disease and multiple sclerosis, KAN-101 and ANK-700, that demonstrated antigen-specific tolerance, bystander suppression, and an impact on disease-specific biomarkers.

None of this looks like a company that has a failing drug on their hands. And there's no indication of the MS trial being ended early - the only thing that happened early was completing enrollment early.

Being too ready to give up on hope is its own kind of insanity.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 11 months ago (2 children)

T1 diabetes here. A cure is just 5 years away...

They told me, when I was diagnosed in 1992.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It always 5 years if properly funded. It's never properly funded so always 5 years.

They are testing an artificial pancreas currently. The cost is the issue as always.

[–] AnyOldName3 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

We can genetically engineer bacteria to mimic the missing pancreatic cells, and it's not too different to the way most insulin is produced as all that's new is the system to stop producing insulin when blood sugars are already low enough. However, if you put them in a person, the immune system attacks the bacteria, so they need isolating. To do that, we need a membrane that lets sugar in and insulin out, but doesn't let antigens or live bacteria out, and doesn't let immune cells in. Even if the bacteria are held in place, if immune cells can get in, it's no better than a pancreatic transplant as you'll still need immunosuppressants, and they're generally worse than dealing with type one manually. Development of the membrane keeps hitting unexpected hurdles, so artifical pancreases are still unable to start trials, and then they might take a decade.

There are other approaches, e.g. using electronics to control photosensitive insulin producing bacteria, but they don't have any advantages (the membrane still has to let sugar in so the bacteria can eat) and have more things that can go wrong.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

In theory, and this is another couple of major advancements of this tech away, if you can teach the body to stop attacking specific cells you can do a transplant without rejection. Teach the body to not attack the new pancreas, then stick it in there.

This should be possible with this tech, though it would require a mature and advanced process compared to what we have now. Genetic chimeras can exist without the immune system going crazy, presumably because it recognizes all those parts as "part of the body". If it can be taught to recognize other implanted material as acceptable that opens up a huge range of options. Even a lifetime of immune system training therapy is better than a lifetime of immunosuppressants.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Ultimately what they need to do is decipher stem cell development and fetal development and use the patient's own cells to replace the lost islet cells.

[–] AnyOldName3 2 points 11 months ago

If you don't have a solution to the autoimmune aspect, then a stem-cell-based treatment is no better than one with engineered bacteria or someone else's cells. The originals are gone because the body mistakenly thought they were foreign. A treatment like the article discusses might make stem cells more viable than the alternatives, though, as they'd be less foreign, so need less immune system alteration.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee 5 points 11 months ago

Commercially viable fusion is always 20 yrs away so keep your chin up

[–] nul9o9 14 points 11 months ago

Well damn, I got MS too but caught it fairly early. I'm hoping for a major breakthrough before it gets really bad.

[–] Lycerius 7 points 11 months ago

I came for the Orange reference, but was not disappointed by Red.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

So, if I understand this right, a more accurate title would be "Research into vaccines against autoimmune diseases continues, new data indicate that a change of focus might be needed"

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago

have Crohn's. fingers crossed 🤞🏽