The event is part of the series of talks “Science for Life”, within the framework of VinFuture Science and Technology Week 2023.
Treat autoimmune diseases with T-cell therapy
The seminar “Promoting precision immunology to treat natural disorders” attracted great attention from domestic and foreign scientists when addressing a hot issue in the biomedical community: Natural disorders. exempt.
Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh (Head of General Internal Medicine – Vinmec Times City International General Hospital) shared about: “Unmet needs in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases in Vietnam”.
Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh – Clinical lecturer in the Health Sciences Department, VinUniversity – provides information: Autoimmune diseases (a condition in which the autoimmune system attacks body cells) were previously considered rare, but has now become popular.
Autoimmune diseases are found in about 10% of the world’s population and about 4% of the Vietnamese population. That means out of 100 million Vietnamese people, about 4 million people have the disease. That’s why currently 20% of biomedical research globally focuses on autoimmune diseases.
Regarding treatment, T-cell therapy is a trend in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. T cells act as gatekeepers, able to recognize abnormal antigens in the body such as cancer cells.
However, the role of this cell in treating specific autoimmune diseases as well as the cost issue is a story that biomedical scientists are focusing on finding answers to.
GS. Shimon Sakaguchi – Osaka University, Japan, the first person to discover regulatory T cells (Treg) to treat immune diseases – said: “The role of T cells is significant in thyroid inflammatory diseases. autoimmune enteritis, autoimmune enteritis, can be applied in some cancer diseases or to treat infections in organ transplant patients. However, how to achieve the target effect in this antigen with all Other diseases are issues that are being researched and have no answers yet.”
GS. Shimon Sakaguchi (Distinguished Professor at the Pioneer Immunology Research Center (IFReC), Osaka University, Japan) impressed with his Presentation on Regulatory T-Cell Therapy to Treat Immune Diseases.
According to Professor. Shimon Sakaguchi, the use of T-cell therapy is being applied to some specific diseases. In some cases, scientists do not have evidence to prove that using antibiotics is better or using T-cell therapy is better.
“When determining a better treatment option, we must consider not only medical factors but also economic factors. How to reduce treatment costs is also a challenge,” Professor. Shimon Sakaguchi said.
Prevent autoimmune diseases through improving the beneficial microflora through diet
Currently, a number of biological drugs using T-cell therapy have been used to treat autoimmune diseases, but the cost is very high. For example, a treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus with CD19-Car-T costs up to $80,000. Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh believes that pharmaceutical companies in Vietnam need to have a production mechanism to reduce drug costs so that many Vietnamese patients can use them.
In the long term, according to experts, it is necessary to promote research on the microbiome and identify beneficial bacteria to effectively improve the immune system to prevent autoimmune diseases. This is a promising direction for mass application on people.
Speakers participated in the discussion session “Promoting precision immunology to treat natural disorders” on the afternoon of December 18.
GS. Pascale Cossart – Head of the Cell Department at the Pasteur Institute Paris, France, shared: “We are researching a lot about this content: Which microorganisms can be used as appropriate therapies; Can we isolating a beneficial microorganism to treat all patients or not; What diet can be applied to create the maximum amount of beneficial bacteria for the body…”
GS. Cossart also added that the microbiome in the human body differs according to geographical region and depends on the diet. Therefore, people can completely change their immune system with an effective, healthy and close to nature diet.
Ms. Cossart also cited a study showing that children who grow freely in natural environments have healthy immune systems, including eating food contaminated with mud and dirt.
Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh added that currently biomedical scientists are identifying biomarker factors for early diagnosis of autoimmune diseases.
“The problem is that specialties need to coordinate treatment at the same time to best help patients. 25% of patients have not only one autoimmune disease but many diseases at the same time. For example, patients have both physical diseases and psychology, both need to be treated,” Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh expressed his opinion.
Box: Also in the series of seminars “Science for Life”, on December 19, world and Vietnamese scientists will have 2 sessions discussing issues of concern in the world including: ” Sustainable Infrastructure and Green Transportation”, “Artificial Intelligence: Breakthrough Potential and Challenges”.
In parallel with the Scientific Seminar, the “VinFuture Future Discovery Dialogue Series” was held for the first time, helping to open up opportunities for cooperation and potential technology transfer from around the world to Vietnam. Specifically, 9 organizations including Vietnam’s largest research institutes, universities and businesses will participate in in-depth discussions with the world’s leading scientists on “New technology in cancer treatment”. ; “Modern agriculture aims for net zero emissions”; “New technology in treating infectious diseases and HIV for young women”…
The focus of the global scientific community is the VinFuture 2023 Awards Ceremony, which will take place on the evening of December 20, 2023 at Hoan Kiem Lake Theater (Hanoi). Here, scientists with breakthrough works, selected from 1,400 research projects from more than 90 countries around the world, will be officially honored for their contributions and creating positive changes for society. the lives of millions of people around the world.
