A preliminary study recently published in JAMA shows that a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) may be better at treating highly active relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS) than traditional drug treatments. This study is the first to test the use of HSCT on this form of MS.
The research team found that patients who received stem cells had a slower progression of MS symptoms compared to patients who only received MS drugs. More of the patients who received a stem cell transplant also exhibited no progression in symptoms.
Dr. Richard Burt, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, IL), explained the importance of the findings: “This degree of improvement has not been demonstrated in pharmaceutical trials even with more intensive DMT [disease modifying treatments] such as alemtuzumab.”
Relapsing-remitting MS is the most common form of multiple sclerosis, affecting about 85% of patients. It is often treated with drugs containing the modifying agent interferon — but these drugs are quite expensive and only slow the progression of the disease. Patients on interferon will eventually see their condition worsen.
The researchers discovered that stem cell treatments can help them rid patients of the dysfunctional immune system cells that cause MS. They confirmed their theory with an open label study involving 110 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS. The participants all had a moderate level of disability and highly active MS.
The participants came from four medical centres located in the United States, Europe, and South America. The group consisted of 66% women and had a mean age of 36 years.
Fifty-five of the subjects received a transplant of nonmyeloablative autologous HSCT (autologous means the stem cells came from the patient’s own body). This type of treatment is called a “mini-transplant” because it uses a small number of stem cells. Each patient receiving a stem cell transplant received a conditioning treatment before receiving their stem cells.
The positive results from this trial indicate that stem cells may become the most effective treatment for this form of MS within the next few years.
Source: Progress for Stem Cell Transplant in MS
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