A medical treatment intended for cancer patients appears to be able to reverse the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), as well–and some people paralyzed by the condition have been able to walk again.
About 20 patients suffering from MS in Sheffield, England were given bone marrow transplants using their own stem cells.The treatment, haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), first destroys a faulty immune system in cancer patients, then uses the stem cell transplant to rebuild it.
Hospitals in the UK, U.S., Sweden, and Brazil are taking part in international trials gauging the long-term benefits of the procedure on MS patients.
As with cancer patients, those with MS would need to endure multiple
rounds of chemotherapy to effectively destroy their faulty immune system
before the transplant can reboot it.
The one time cost of the stem-cell transplant, $43,000, is about the same as the yearly cost of standard MS treatments.
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