As the research on stem cell is making medical breakthroughs, it has recently been considered to give hope to multiple sclerosis patients. A new study finding from the National Institutes of Health has revealed that high-dosages of immunosuppressive therapy or HDIT followed by a stem cell transplant can induce remission of a severe form of multiple sclerosis. The study has also further suggested that a one-time stem cell transplants can potentially be more effective as compared to long-term medicinal treatment at treating relapsing-remitting MS.
Stem Cell Therapy For Multiple Sclerosis
According to reports revealed by Newsy, experts have explained that stem cells are basically the type of cells that haven't decided what they want to be when they grow up, which means that they could possibly be developed into different types of cells. Hence, researchers are convinced that they can be used to heal older damaged cells, like those attacked by the immune system as that in multiple sclerosis. In conducting their study, doctors at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) which is a part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States have followed 24 people who were noted for having unsuccessful chances with typical MS medications.
The Study's Proposition
Meanwhile, In one of his statements reported by the National Institutes Of Health, NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. has revealed that the trial, dubbed as HALT-MS, suggests that one-time treatment of high-dose immunosuppressive therapy and autologous hematopoietic cell transplant (HDIT/HCT) may be substantially more effective than long-term treatment with the best available medications for people with a certain type of MS. Furthermore, it was found that the experiment treatment also aims to suppress any form of active disease and prevent further disability through the removal of disease-causing cells and resetting the immune system.
