Stem cell injections cures early stage Multiple Sclerosis
POSTED January 30, 2009 - 16:58 | POSTED BY Smrity Sharma
Last edited by Shikha Patial on January 30, 2009 - 17:39
Chicago, January 30: Here is some good news for people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis or MS. A new American study suggests that stem cell injections can reverse the crippling effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease.
Lead author of the study, Dr. Richard K. Burt, chief of immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, said, "This is the first time we have turned the tide on this disease."
The study showed that after three years 17 (81 percent) out of twenty men and women with ‘relapsing-remitting’ MS saw their health improve such as regaining balance, having fewer problems in walking and lesser leg weakness, due to the aggressive treatment.
According to Dr. Doug Brown of the MS Society, "These are very encouraging results and it is exciting to see that in this trial not only is progression of disability halted, but damage appears to be reversed.”
“Stem cells are showing more and more potential in the treatment of MS. The challenge we now face is proving their effectiveness in trials involving large numbers of people,” he added.
Multiple sclerosis or MS is most common disabling neurological condition in which the body's immune systemdefine attacks the nerve fibers and their protective insulation, the myelin sheath, in the central nervous system, the disease often progresses to physical and cognitive disability.
Symptoms include loss of physical skills and sensation, distressed vision, problems in speech, bladderdefine and bowel difficulties and hampered intellectual abilities. There is no known cure for MS and it affects nearly 85,000 people in United Kingdom and 400,000 people in the United States.
Past studies have shown that stem cell transplants can stop the condition but cannot reverse it. While in the latest study, people suffering with MS were injected with stem cell in arms or leg from bone marrow. The technique suppressed the immune system that causes damage and effectively 'reseted' the immune system.
The findings of the study appears in the March issue of the British journal, the Lancet Neurology.
