The incredible breakthrough that could cure type-1 diabetes and other immune disorders. Experts reveal what's being called 'the biggest advance in decades'

The immune system is our unsung hero when it comes to staying healthy and sickness-free. But exciting new research suggests a type of treatment – called CAR T-cell therapy – could potentially stop all of these incurable disorders in their tracks by 'resetting' the immune system so it ceases its attacks on healthy tissue. 'CAR T-cell therapy was a big breakthrough in the treatment of cancer and it could be for many autoimmune conditions as well,' says Professor Maria Leandro, a consultant rheumatologist at University College London Hospital and one of the UK's leading researchers in its use for autoimmune illnesses. Researchers at UCLH – including Professor Leandro – and Manchester Royal Infirmary are testing CAR T-cell therapy in patients with lupus, an autoimmune illness that affects almost 70,000 people in the UK and causes joint and muscle pain, skin rashes and extreme fatigue. Last month, three UK patients underwent CAR T-cell therapy for lupus after a 15-year-old girl in Germany was given the treatment as a last resort – when all other drugs had failed – and became symptom-free within months as the therapy 'reset' her immune system and freed her of the need to take any drugs at all.