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New Insights into Non-Inflammatory Causes of Rare Neurological Symptoms in Children



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News From Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Transmitted by PR Newswire for Journalists on September 26, 2024 11:10 AM EDT

Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Reveal New Insights into Non-Inflammatory Causes of Rare Neurological Symptoms in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Following CAR-T Therapy


Study marks the first time these side effects were reported in children


PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) revealed for the first time that children, adolescents and young adults may experience very rare neurological issues of paraparesis and quadriparesis following chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, a type of immunotherapy used to treat B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL). Additionally, these complications occurred without the type of inflammation typically seen in adults. The findings were published today in the journal Blood.

Researchers previously reported that CAR-T may lead to complications known as immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), which can present with a range of neurological symptoms from mild confusion to severe issues such as brain swelling, seizures and coma. However, as CAR-T therapy becomes a more prevalent cancer treatment, new patterns are emerging, revealing complex side effects in younger patients.

„Our findings suggest CAR-T induced neurological side effects, while rare, can impact a spectrum of age ranges, from children to young adults. The causes of these complications in young people could be more complex than the exclusive T-cell activation and excessive cytokine production that typically leads to inflammation in adults,“ said Caroline Diorio, MD, FRCPC, FAAP, an attending physician with CHOP’s Cancer Center. „The lack of inflammation points to a host of other underlying culprits, such as metabolic profiles, that require extensive additional research to understand.“