Health · Medical Research · 1 hr ago
CAR-T therapy brings early improvements for people with stiff person syndrome
US doctors reported major improvements in some people with stiff person syndrome after CAR-T treatment.
The rare autoimmune disease affects the central nervous system and can cause severe muscle stiffness and painful spasms.
There is no cure, and existing treatments have rarely restored people’s previous level of function.
In a trial at the Mayo Clinic, patients’ immune cells were altered to target cells linked to the disease.
Some participants regained everyday abilities, including walking, returning to work and resuming hobbies.
The findings could point to a new use for CAR-T, a therapy already used to treat cancer, and may offer hope for people with other immune-related neurological conditions.
Researchers say they must find out whether the benefits last over time.
A small trial found that CAR-T cell therapy was followed by major improvements in some people with stiff person syndrome.
Some patients who had needed help walking or with daily tasks returned to work and hobbies.
The results were published in JAMA Neurology, but researchers said it is not yet known whether the improvements will last.
CAR-T therapy uses a patient’s engineered immune cells and is already used to treat some cancers.
Stiff person syndrome is a rare autoimmune condition affecting the central nervous system, and there is no cure.
- Who
- US neurologists at Mayo Clinic studied people with stiff person syndrome.
- What
- They reported early improvements after patients received CAR-T cell therapy.
- When
- The results were reported on 9 November 2026; the article does not state when the trial took place.
- Where
- The trial was conducted by a team at Mayo Clinic in the US.
- Why
- The therapy was tested as a potential treatment for stiff person syndrome, for which there is no cure.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Céline Dion announced that she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome.
Trial participant Jonathan Walden said he returned to work and had not had an episode.
The Guardian reported on early improvements in the trial, whose results were published in JAMA Neurology.
- Treatment
- CAR-T cell therapy
- Study team
- Mayo Clinic neurologists in the US
- Results publication
- JAMA Neurology
- Condition
- Stiff person syndrome, a rare disease affecting the central nervous system
- Diagnosis announcement
- Céline Dion announced her diagnosis in December 2022
What people are saying
These early results are very encouraging, and the key question now is whether those improvements will be sustained over time.
I can go to work every single day. I can do everything I did before. I go hunting; I can go fishing.
The results in stiff person syndrome offer tremendous hope, not only for people living with this disease but potentially for patients with other immune-mediated neurologic conditions where effective treatment options remain limited.
I just walked for seven minutes on the treadmill.