Sipho D. Ntshalintshali, South Africa
Tygerberg Hospital RheumatologyPresenter of 1 Presentation
THE CONCEPT OF IMMUNE SYSTEM REBOOT THERAPY (ISRT) IN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES
Abstract
Background and Aims
Autoimmune diseases as a collective are generally secondary to a dysregulation of the innate and/or adaptive immune systems leading to organ and/or systemic disease in a genetically and environmentally predisposed host. There is no cure for autoimmune diseases currently, but therapy is geared towards controlling the chronic systemic disease towards remission, supporting affected organs and preventing acute flares using corticosteroids, disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and more recently biologic therapies.
Methods
Review of literature for evidence supporting the theory behind the immune system reboot therapy (ISRT) and its potential to cure autoimmune diseases.
Results
In theory, ISRT has the potential to cure immune mediated diseases which requires the elimination of all existing immune system memory without a bone marrow stem cell transplant, by allowing the pluripotent stem cells of the host to reboot, without reproducing the disease mimicking the original stem cell at birth since autoimmune disease are not congenital. One way in which such can be obtained is through a monitored water-only based prolonged fast of up to 30 days.
Conclusions
ISRT has a potential to completely cure immune mediated diseases. A prolonged water-only based monitored fast seems to be a potential mechanism to achieve this ideal, at least in theory.