Stem cell boost for MS sufferers

A BREAKTHROUGH treatment for multiple sclerosis has been shown to halt the disease in its tracks, experts announced last night.

Doctors used chemotherapy to kill off patients’ faulty immune cells and then replaced their stem cells to ‘reset’ the system.

The clinical trial, involving 24 patients, had remarkable results. All but one of the Canadian patients were able to come off all medication for seven and a half years without their disease progressing.

And a third of patients saw a sustained improvement in their condition throughout the study period, according to a paper published in the Lancet last night.

Six patients – a quarter of those taking part – were able to go back to work three years into the trial.

MS is the most common disabling neurological condition, with 100,000 patients in Britain.

It affects twice as many women as men, causes loss of mobility, sight problems, tiredness and excruciating pain. Until now few drugs have helped. However, doctors warn the new treatment is very aggressive and has a high risk of side effects.

Because of this it will be some time before it is extended to more hospitals and even then will probably be used only in extreme cases.

MS is caused when the body’s immune system malfunctions and instead of warding off diseases turns instead to attack the body’s own nerves. The disease either becomes progressively worse with age or strikes in brutal periodic relapses, with many people left relying on wheelchairs.

Experts think that stem cell treatments show the most promise but until now they have found that patients tend to relapse.

The new approach, which involves completely destroying the faulty immune system rather than simply suppressing it as other trials have done, seems to solve that problem.