HSCT for systemic autoimmune diseases with neurologic involvement

Over the past 25 years, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been evolving as specific treatment for patients with severe and refractory systemic autoimmune diseases, where mechanistic studies have provided evidence for a profound immune renewal facilitating the observed beneficial responses. In addition to autoimmune neurologic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or neuromyelitis optica (NMO), rheumatic diseases with central or peripheral nervous system involvement and insufficient response to conventional immunosuppressive or biologic therapies represent a growing indication for autologous HSCT. They most commonly include connective tissue diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), vasculitides, or rarer diseases from the autoinflammatory spectrum, such as Behçet's disease, where neurologic manifestations may represent the greatest disease burden. Neurologic manifestations may resemble those of MS, including myelitis optic neuropathy, stroke, or seizures. Outcomes of such manifestations are variable after autologous HSCT but most frequently improve or even resolve with the underlying disease, especially in SLE. This article will provide the current evidence and summarize the outcomes of HSCT for rheumatic autoimmune diseases with neurologic manifestations.