Harris Perlman, a researcher from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, has invented a novel way to halt and even reverse rheumatoid arthritis.

This way was developed by imitation of a suicide molecule (whimsically referred to as Casper the Ghost) that floats undetected into overactive immune cells responsible for the disease.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Current treatments for rheumatoid arthritis include low-level chemotherapy and steroids. These are not always effective, however, and they are frequently accompanied by side effects. A newer class of therapy, which is sometimes used in combination with chemotherapy and steroids, is biologic response modifiers. These are antibodies or other proteins that reduce the inflammation produced by the hyperactive immune cells. These biologics don’t work for everyone, though, and can be associated with side effects including the risk of infection.

Perlman said the next step is to develop nanotechnology for a more precise method of delivering the drug. His research was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

Harris Perlman, the lead author and an associate professor of medicine at Feinberg, said that the new therapy stopped the disease cold in 75 percent of the mice.

The study will be published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.