Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.Researchers from Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway, have announced the efficacy of drug candidate, Rituximab in treating patients with lymphoma and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
Subscribe to our email newsletter
Rituximab helps in the reduction of B-lymphocytes.
The placebo-controlled Phase II study comprised 30 ME/CFS patients who were randomised to either treatment with Rituximab or saline.
It was found that 10 out of 15 (67%) patients taking the Rituximab reported lasting improvements in self-reported ME/CFS symptoms, while two out of 15 (13%) patients receiving saline reported improvement.
Lead researchers and oncologists, Øystein Fluge and Olav Mella said B-cell depletion was associated with clinical improvement in two thirds of the patients and the delayed responses in Rituximab treatment suggest that CFS may be a form of autoimmune disease.