London (PTI): British scientists are on track to develop a single injection 'vaccine' cure for rheumatoid arthritis, a disease difficult to treat because it is caused by a malfunctioning immune system.

A team of researcher at Britain's Newcastle University are set to test the vaccine on volunteers and could be available within five years.

"This is an important potential cure. It is possible one injection could switch off the abnormal immune response," said Prof Alan Silman, medical director of the charity Arthritis Research Campaign, which funded the research.

"If it works it could reverse the disease and stop further episodes," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Rheumatoid arthritis is difficult to treat because it is caused by a malfunctioning immune system, causing inflammation in the wrong places. Cells would be taken from the body, altered, and injected back into the affected joint, the British daily said.

"Based on previous laboratory research we would expect that this will specifically suppress or down regulate the auto-immune response," said John Isaacs, Professor of Clinical Rheumatology at Newcastle University's Musculoskeletal Research Group, who is leading the study team.