In MDA's autoimmune disorders, the target of the immune system's attack is muscle tissue, nerve tissue that sends signals to muscles, or sometimes blood vessels around muscle cells. Etanercept for dermatomyositis. Etanercept is a drug developed for rheumatoid arthritis by Immunex and Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals. The drug blocks tumor necrosis factor, a natural body chemical involved in inflammation. In dermatomyositis, the immune system causes inflammation around muscle cells and the blood vessels in muscles.
Current treatments involve global suppression of the immune system and can be highly toxic.
The strategy has shown promise in rats. Vaccines against an immune response. The vaccines appear to turn the immune system's weaponry against its own mistakes. These vaccines, which also have potential for the treatment of other autoimmune disorders, block only those T cells, B cells and proteins that are involved in an unwanted immune response. In muscular dystrophies, abnormalities in genes lead to the loss of muscle proteins and degeneration of muscles.