Thanks to stem cell treatment, it might be possible to stop multiple sclerosis and improve its symptoms.
A potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord, multiple sclerosis is a fatal condition that affects an estimated 400,000 Americans, as cited by the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. A person with the disease suffers from their immune system attacking the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers, which leads to problems between the brain and the rest of the body.
Stem Cell Transplant For Multiple Sclerosis Patients
The stem cell trial in question involves wiping out a person's immune system through cancer medication and rebooting it via stem cell transplant. It uses chemotherapy to deliberately handicap the immune system. Then doctors take stem cells from the patients' blood and bone marrow and reinfuse them.
More than 100 patients participated in the trials, which were administered in Sweden, United States, Brazil, and England. They all suffered from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, where periods of remission follow attacks or relapses.
The results? A multiple sclerosis sufferer from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, says she's now free of the symptoms that come from having multiple sclerosis.
"It feels like a miracle," she told the BBC.
The participants were divided into two groups. One group underwent a procedure called haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or HSCT. The other underwent drug treatment. In the HSCT group, only one relapsed. In the drug group, 39 did. Follow-up results show that the stem cell transplant failed in only three out of 52 HSCT participants, compared with 30 out of 50 in the other group. These numbers are astonishing.
Furthermore, the HSCT group reported that their symptoms improved and that their disabilities lessened. In the other group, the opposite is true, with the patients suffering from worsened symptoms.
According to Richard Burt, lead researcher, the neurological community has been skeptical about stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis patients. However, the study in question might change doctors' attitudes toward HSCT.
How Much Does HSCT Cost?
There's the problem of cost, however. The stem cell transplant costs £30,000 — nearly $42,000 when converted. However, this is around the same price as a year's worth of multiple sclerosis medication.
The numbers are certainly encouraging, and even with just a single test, the results are already indicating a breakthrough in terms of prospects for people who suffer from multiple sclerosis. Susan Kohlhaas, of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, said that HSCT will eventually be an established treatment in England. Once that happens, the next step would be to ensure patients who need the transplant actually get it.
