Patients withMS are helped by ‘freeze’ treatment

A MULTIPLE sclerosis treatment that “resets” the immune system has been found to “freeze” progression of the disease in nearly half of patients, according to scientists.

A study led by Imperial College London found 46 per cent of patients who underwent the treatment did not suffer a worsening of their condition for five years.

The treatment could give hope to the estimated 100,000 people in the UK who are affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), for which there is currently no cure.

MS – which is caused by the immune system malfunctioning and mistakenly attacking nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord – can lead to patients suffering problems with movement, vision, balance and speech.

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.

Dr Paolo Muraro, the study’s lead author, said: “We previously knew this treatment reboots or resets the immune system – and that it carried risks – but we didn’t know how long the benefits lasted We can ‘freeze’ a patient’s disease for up to five years.”

However, researchers noted the nature of the treatment, which involves aggressive chemotherapy, meant it carried significant risks.

The chemotherapy de-activates the immune system for a short period, which can lead to greater risk of infection – of the 281 patients who received AHSCT, eight died in the 100 days after treatment. Older patients and those with the most severe forms of MS had higher risk of death.