Katie Hunter |
Some of you may have seen the BBC1 Panorama programme on 18th of January “Can you stop my Multiple Sclerosis”. This episode focused on a new stem cell treatment for MS know as Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (AHSCT or HSCT). This treatment involves collecting bone marrow stem cells from patients and then trying to destroy the faulty immune system using chemotherapy. The immune system is then built up using the stems cells originally taken from the patient which then regrow.
Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological condition and around 100,000 people in the UK are affected. Most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s and around three times as many women have MS as men. A team of doctors in Sheffield are using a treatment which is normally used to treat certain cancers. The trials involve around 20 patients and the episode follows the experiences of some of those patients varying from those who started treatment some time ago as well as patients who had just started.
The procedure is not without risk and carries a 1.3% mortality rate. Whilst the treatment has been effective for some MS patients, the best results have been seen in people with highly active forms of relapsing MS but so far it doesn’t look to be effective for progressive MS because it can’t repair damage already done.
This research and treatment offers hope to MS sufferers and it was clear from the programme that this treatment had changed the lives of the patients featured. Let’s hope we find a cure for all types of MS very soon.
