CAR T cell therapy, originally developed to hunt and destroy cancer cells, is now being repurposed to treat autoimmune diseases. Jan Janisch-Hanzlik, a 49-year-old nurse whose multiple sclerosis had forced her to give up her active job and fear carrying her grandchildren, became the first patient in a CAR T trial at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, receiving treatment on June 9, 2025.

The approach reprograms a patient's T cells to eliminate B cells, which mistakenly attack the body's own tissues in autoimmune conditions. A German team first demonstrated promise in a lupus patient in 2021, and researchers have since expanded trials to include multiple sclerosis, lupus, Graves' disease, and vasculitis. The treatment essentially resets the immune system to a pre-disease state.

Early results show significant potential. In a Kyverna-sponsored study of 26 patients with stiff person syndrome, most could walk faster within 16 weeks, and eight no longer needed assistive devices. By April, all participants had discontinued other immunotherapies. However, the therapy carries risks including inflammation, low blood pressure, and temporary immunosuppression that can leave patients vulnerable to infections for up to a year.

Despite these challenges, researchers see this as transformative. "I think it's a game changer," said Amanda Piquet, an autoimmune neurologist at the University of Colorado Anschutz. The treatment represents a fundamental shift from managing autoimmune conditions to potentially resetting the immune system entirely.