Risk Factors for Scleroderma

A renowned expert in stem cell therapy approaches for treating chronic diseases such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, Dr. Richard Burt has also contributed research to peer-reviewed publications such as BioMed Central and the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Richard Burt specializes in treating severe autoimmune disorders, including multiple sclerosis and systemic sclerosis (scleroderma).

Systemic sclerosis (Scleroderma) is a rare but serious disorder that affects connective tissues throughout the body. It is believed to be caused by an overactive immune response that accelerates collaging synthesis, which hardens the body’s tissues.

While the exact causes of this condition are not well understood, once the disease is has diffuse skin involvement or involves the lungs, the mortality from the disease is 5-6 % per year every year without a plateau in mortality

Dr Burt has two publications in The Lancet medical journal on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). Dr Burt completed the first randomized trial of HSCT for systemic sclerosis called ASSIST and since then two other randomized trials of HSCT for systemic sclerosis (ASTIS and SCOT) confirmed Dr Burt's results. Most recently Dr Burt published a paper in Bone Marrow Transplantation in 2020 showing a much safer way to do HSCT for systemic sclerosis. In this new approach Dr Burt decreased the duration of neutropenia from 10 days to 5 days with the same improvements in skin score and lung function.

Antibodies from the Immune System Fight Diseases and Infections

For almost 20 years, Dr. Richard Burt has taught at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Now a full professor, Dr. Richard Burt studies the use of stem cells in the human immune system, which is the body’s defense against foreign bodies that cause infections and diseases.

One essential component of the immune system consists of proteins called antibodies. These are categorized into five classes (or isotopes), listed below with their purposes. Each group name begins with “Ig,” which stands for immunoglobulin:

- IgG, the antibody best known to the public, is associated with immunizations that destroy some kinds of infections and toxins.

- IgA is present in areas that secrete mucus, such as the mouth and the vagina. Breast milk, tears, and saliva also contain IgA. This antibody triggers inflammation, although it can also target the wrong areas and lead to conditions such as celiac disease.

- IgM responds in the preliminary stages of an infection. It binds tightly with its target and sometimes attacks recurring infections, such as herpes. IgM is also found when a disease returns that the patient has had before.

- IgE creates allergic responses, also known as histamine attacks. This antibody also goes to work against parasitic worms.

- IgD works in a less obvious way. Rather than working directly on diseased or infected cells, it signals other cells to fight them.

Stem Cell Therapy and Multiple Sclerosis

Holding an MD from St. Louis University School of Medicine, Dr. Richard Burt is a professor of medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago. Dr. Richard Burt is a co-author of several publications on stem cell therapy, including “Effect of Nonmyeloablative Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation vs Continued Disease-Modifying Therapy on Disease Progression in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis - A Randomized Clinical Trial.”

A subcategory of the body repair system which replaces some dead or damaged cells, stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the potential to develop into different cell types. Stem cell therapy is the use of stem cells for treating diseases or injuries. It has already been used for treating various conditions, including some cancers. Currently, researchers are investigating the efficacy of stem cell therapy in treating multiple sclerosis, a disease characterized by damage to the protective sheath called myelin in the brain due to attack by the immune system, which can result in disability.

The most studied stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis is autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). Found in bone marrow and peripheral blood, hematopoietic stem cells are present in adults. AHSCT aims to reboot a patient's immune system back to proper function, thus stopping it from attacking myelin in the brain. The procedure involves collecting hematopoietic stem cells from the patient's blood, wiping clean the patient's existing immune system through chemical treatment, and restoring the immune system with the extracted stem cells.

Dr Burt pioneered the field of HSCT for multiple sclerosis and has emphasized a safer non-myeloablative approach to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. As Dr Burt teaches , the effect and toxicity is from the conditioning regimen (a 5 day infusion of drugs to knock down the immune system) --and not from the stem cells that are merely a supportive blood transfusion to shorten the interval of post conditioning regimen cytopenias. Dr Burt completed the first randomized trial of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for multiple sclerosis, that was markedly positive for HSCT. For this work, Dr Burt was awarded in Washington DC, the prestigious "Distinguished Clinical Research Award: for 2019.