A team led by Mass General Brigham researchers demonstrated that inebilizumab reduced the risk of symptoms by 87% in patients with the rare affliction known as immunoglobulin G4–related disease (IgG4-RD) An international, phase 3 clinical trial led by investigators at Mass General Brigham could improve the treatment of a rare disease that can cause debilitating symptoms. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine , found that treatment with inebilizumab greatly reduced the symptoms of immunoglobulin G4–related disease (IgG4-RD), compared to placebo. “This is a huge day in the history of this disease,” said lead author John Stone, MD, MPH, a rheumatologist in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Immunology at Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.
“We are thrilled to have worked so closely with patients to undertake a trial specifically focused on their disease, with the goal of finding a therapy that we hope will be approved shortly for them.” IgG4-RD is estimated to affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Although IgG4-RD is an orphan disease first recognized to be a unique condition in 2003, review of the medical literature as far back as the late 1800s confirms that the disease was around even then – and likely much longer.
People who have the condition suffer from a build-up of immune cells that produce the IgG4 antibody in certain organs. The disease can affect a.
