How Stem Cells Can Help MS Patients

Swiss Medica
Sep 4, 2018 · 2 min read

The results from a clinical study performed on multiple sclerosis patients yielded a stem cell treatment that halted the disease in 91 percent of the patients, according to an MRI scan done after three years. In addition, 86 percent of those test subjects had no further relapses.

The 24 volunteers suffered from a relapsing-remitting form of MS (RRMS), which affects about 85 percent of MS patients worldwide. It is characterized by continued inflammatory attacks on the layers of myelin, the membrane that protects and insulates the nerve fibers that make up the central nervous system. This leads to lesions or patches in the membrane and interrupts messages that are transmitted along the nerves. Symptoms grow worse as the disease progresses and include: fatigue, motor function loss, memory loss, vertigo, and even depression. For this study, people’s age, gender, progression of the disease, health conditions, and medical history were all varied.

The study’s leader was Richard A. Nash of the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute. The volunteers first had their immune systems destroyed, and then rebuilt using their own blood stem cells. Before the treatment, the volunteers were tested by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) for their motor skills, walking ability, level of cognition and overall quality of life. Each participant scored between 3.0 and 5.5, a classification of mild to moderate disability, and each had experienced RRMS for 15 years or less with continued relapses.

The three-month procedure began with high-dose immunosuppressive therapy (HDIT) along with chemotherapy to wipe out their immune systems. Over four years, between 2006 and 2010, they received millions of stem cell transplants that had been harvested from their own blood to rebuild their immune systems. The patients then spent up to four weeks in the hospital, waiting for their new immune systems to take effect.

The hope was the new and ‘rebooted’ immune systems would not target the myelin, ultimately stopping the progression of MS. A JAMA Neurology paper showed that was what happened to a majority of the patients, proving that restored myelin can repair the function of damaged nerves.

The researchers reported that while some side effects were unpleasant, they were not unexpected. Early side effects were gastrointestinal and haematologic but were reversible.

While it’s true that stem cells delayed progression and overturned some of the damage, it is too early to say whether this type of stem cell treatment will become a standard for all MS patients.


Originally published at swissmedica.net on September 4, 2018.

Written by

Swiss Medica XXI century S.A. has over 20 years of clinical experience in Anti Aging and Regenerative Medicine.

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