(Photo source: TVM)

A small study has found that aggressive chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant can stop the progress of multiple sclerosis (MS). The research, which was published in the journal The Lancet, involved the treatment and observation of 24 patients between the ages of 18 – 50 in three different hospitals in Canada. In 23 patients the treatment slowed down the progress of the disease, but in one case, the person died.

A spokesperson for the MS Society said that this type of treatment “offers hope” but holds “significant risks”. Around 100,000 people in the U.K. have MS, which is a neurological illness for which there is no cure.

The condition causes the immune system to attack the linings of nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Many patients are diagnosed with this disease in their 20s or 30s.

One of the existing treatments suppresses the immune system with chemotherapy after which stem cells are introduced into the blood of the patient. This procedure is known as autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

However at this stage, researchers have taken a further step and destroyed the immune system entirely. This is then re-built with stem cells from the patient’s own blood, but the study is still at a very early stage.

Researchers said that those who survived, have not had a relapse in 13 years and there was no new signs of disease activity. The person who died did so as a result of a strong reaction to the chemotherapy.

By Mtella Gunju

Source: tvm.com.mt