This second study published in the medical journal JAMA Neurology once again unveils the efficacy of a treatment, immunosuppressive therapy in the fight against multiple sclerosis. This new process works in two stages. Immunosuppressive therapy first destroys active disease and pathogenic cells in the body and resets the immune system. Then, the researchers transplant stem cells to the patients to rebuild their immune system.
The first study showed that this treatment enabled 69% of participants to go into remission five years later and without an increase in symptoms of the disease.
Between 1995 and 2006, researchers at Imperial College London in the UK tested this therapy on 281 patients who suffered from advanced forms of multiple sclerosis and for which treatments had failed to improve their condition or reduce symptoms of the disease.
An effective but very aggressive therapy
The results of the study showed that this new treatment made it possible to stop the disease in almost half of them (46%), for at least 5 years. The authors of the study claim that some patients even saw their condition improve.
But 8 transplant-related deaths (2.8%) were reported within 100 days of transplantation.
“The results of this study are encouraging, because they confirm those already carried out”, explains Paolo A. Muraro, author of the study. “But we need to make progress on the risk of death during transplantation.”
Treatment for #MS that ‘resets’ immune system may halt disease for at least 5 yrs – but procedure carries risk https://t.co/fKZ2Yuvj3Qpic.twitter.com/pPsL7Ptm2L
– Imperial College (@imperialcollege) February 21, 2017
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