Abstract

IMPACT OF IMMUNOTHERAPY ON PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

Ujwal Pramod Wankhede*, Gaurav Umesh Patil, Pushkar Namdeo Marathe, Sahil Sanjay Mali and Jitendra More

ABSTRACT

Immunotherapy is a revolutionary strategy in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, consisting on modifying or restoring immunity to recover immune balance and suppress disease activity. In the present study, systematic research was carried out with an objective to assess how effective and safe immunotherapy is in general as well as its overall impact on pharmacological treatment of autoimmune disorders. A systematic search was done across multiple databases which were PubMed, Scopus and Clinical Trials gov, and identified studies from 2010 to April 24th, 2024. Study design and data collection We included clinical trials or observational studies that enrolled adults with autoimmune diseases, describing treatment effects outcomes (efficacy), quality of life (QoL); safety profiles; mechanistic pathways of immunotherapy. There was a total of 85 studies representing 5,600 patients that made up the analysis. An overall response rate of 68% to immunotherapy was also found, paired with substantial reductions in disease activity scores for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus among other conditions. Similarly, changes from baseline in physical and mental health scores also showed the therapeutic benefit of immunotherapy with respect to quality of life. While 30% of patients had treatment-related adverse events, most were easily managed and serious adverse events occurred in about only 5%. A biomarker study confirmed changes in inflammatory cytokines and regulatory T cells, suggesting the beneficial effects of immunotherapy. The results further support immuno-therapy as a potential treatment option with meaningful clinical efficacy and acceptable safety for autoimmune diseases. Further research exploring optimized treatment protocols as well as potentially synergistic combination therapies that improve therapeutic efficacy, are needed in the future.

Keywords: Immunotherapy, Autoimmune diseases, Efficacy, Safety, Quality of life, Pharmacological treatment, Cytokines, Regulatory T cells.