Intractable diseases and bone marrow transplantation.

Intractable diseases are defined as diseases of unknown etiopathogenesis, and for which therapeutic strategies remain to be established. They are therefore likely to cause various sequelae. Of the 86 intractable diseases recognized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan, half are thought to be curable by bone marrow transplantation (BMT). This report shows which diseases are curable by BMT and provides evidence that autoimmune diseases are stem cell disorders.