The Telegraph : declared in New stem cell transplantation may 'freeze' disease progression

The disease is caused by the immune system malfunctioning and mistakenly attacking nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The treatment, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT), was given to patients with advanced forms of the disease who had failed to respond to other medications. "In this study, which is the largest long-term follow-up study of this procedure, we've shown we can 'freeze' a patient's disease - and stop it from becoming worse, for up to five years." The treatment works by destroying the immune cells responsible for attacking the nervous system. Dr Paolo Muraro, the new study's lead author, said: "We previously knew this treatment reboots or resets the immune system but we didn't know how long the benefits lasted.

Multiple sclerosis: Stem cell transplantation may halt disease progression

New research reveals that almost half of MS patients treated with AHSCT experienced no disease progression in the subsequent 5 years. New research provides further evidence of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as an effective treatment for multiple sclerosis, after finding the procedure halted disease progression for 5 years in almost half of patients. Overall, the researchers found that 46 percent of patients experienced no disease progression in the 5 years after treatment. Additionally, patients experienced small improvements in MS symptoms after AHSCT. Next, the harvested stem cells are returned to the patient's bloodstream, with the aim of restarting normal blood cell production.


A type of treatment for multiple sclerosis that 'resets' the immune system may stop progression of the disease in nearly half of patients. All immune system cells are made from stem cells in the bone marrow. The condition is caused by the immune system malfunctioning and mistakenly attacking nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Previous studies have suggested this 'resets' the immune system, and stops it from attacking the nerve cells. The one-off treatment aims to prevent the immune system from attacking the nerve cells.



collected by :Lucy William

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