Rituximab 'causes impaired immune function, Griffith study says'

Nope, definitely not a hyped result at all, Griffiths University wouldn't do that....

 

This is going to be ugly

 

Wish they wouldn't do these media releases until the publication is actually available.

 

This sort of work and statements in the article drive me up the bend.

 

Isn't it suppose to "impair" the immune system? I understood this was it's method of action, to take out one type of immune cell which was suspected of being faulty and force them to be replaced with new ones, which would presumably not be defective.

I'm struggling to see the point of this report, even assuming..........

 

It is not clear whether they looked at NK cells from patients treated with rituximab, in which case one wonders who did the trial, or NK cells in culture, which almost certainly tells us nothing.

I am afraid that if there was any doubt about the fact that this group do not have a clue, there is none now. What on earth do they think they are up to? Who cares what rituximab does to NK cells now? Of what possible relevance could it have to anything?

 

It would most certainly have to be the latter. They recruited in the past for studies involving in vitro drug testing but as far as I'm aware haven't recruited for an actual in vivo trial of any kind.

 

I googled very briefly after seeing this media release and noticed this different publication about NK cells and Rituximab below.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5024429/

 

I dont see the point of this study except to try and undermine ritux and the possible subset it may help - findings are still to be had. Are they boosting their own theories?

It wouldnt be surprising if ritux did affect NK cells? But that doesn't mean much even if correct and last I heard the NK cell findings were not able to be replicated anyway? I think I saw this at IiME and that NK cells are too difficult as a marker. You hear of some having decreased function and some having increased function. Which also does not mean causation.

Calcium channel blockers Griffiths are keen to try, you hear some go well on these and some don't but I haven't heard of them curing people anecdotally.

Excuse my ranting but I have watched them make many assertions with no proof or replications from elsewhere or researchers seemingly keen to replicate their findings. I also thought that Marshall-Gradsnik background was in sports medicine and muscle function? I could have that wrong.

They certainly are very good at PR and gaining funding.

 

Could be worth highlighting that this isn't a publication by Griffiths?

 

@Andy I just edited to clarify.

 

I think I have seen this paper before and cannot work out what it is trying to tell us. The effect of rituximab on NK cells has nothing to do with the fact that NK cells mediate B cell killing as far as I can see. Since rituximab is a human antibody there is no obvious reason why it should do anything special to NK cells, which do not express CD20. The problem is that all you need is for there to be a low level of contamination of the NK sample with B cells or CD20+ T cells and you would see odd things happening.

 

I think probably yes. The only caveat is that there was a physician in Queensland who was using rituximab in ME but I don't think he was working with Griffith.

 

I find it difficult to swallow that this team seem to have received the most funding in Aus. If I have that wrong someone please say otherwise.

 

Yes, they are the most well-funded team in the country, to the tune of several million dollars.

 

Thank you! I know nothing about hard research except for what is explained to me here and other ME organizations but I knew these "researchers" have been on to nothing from the get-go. And one of the most important clues to is the silence of the researchers here in the US about their "marker" research.

And just to clarify, Rituximab will not help anyone with ME. There is no SUBSET that can be helped. They don't have ME and were misdiagnosed.

Everything they are doing at Griffiths, their marker research going on for years is a sham and their disqualifying Rituximab as an ME drug the way they have is a joke. It is an invalid drug for us because it does not work on true ME or CFS or SEID. There IS NO SUBSET, just patients misdiagnosed with ME or CFS or SEID. That's what a criteria without a true marker will get you, people that are misdiagnosed. Maybe they had CANCER!

 

Don Staines (Griffith University) will be presenting again in London at Invest In ME, June 1 2018.