Stem cell therapy has helped stop the progression of multiple sclerosis (or MS).
- Stem cell therapy has helped stop the progression of multiple sclerosis (or MS).
- It was tested on 15 patients suffering from multiple sclerosis.
- Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.
Stem cell therapy to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) has shown promising results in of a clinical trial.
A well-tolerated treatment for multiple sclerosis
The trial included 15 patients with secondary multiple sclerosis – the progressive phase of the disease – aged 38 to 57, all of whom had high levels of disability.
Neural stem cells were injected directly into the patients’ brains and, over the next 12 months, they were carefully observed for any side effects and changes in their symptoms. They also had to take medication to suppress their immune systems for half of the follow-up period.
The following year revealed that the treatment was safe and well tolerated: there were no deaths or serious adverse effects, and when side effects did occur, they were either temporary or reversible. The main result of this experiment is that none of the patients showed an increase in their disability or a worsening of their symptoms.
Treatment against multiple sclerosis: brain metabolism impacted
The team also monitored changes in the brain’s metabolism – that is, how it produces energy – over the 12 months, as previous research had shown that changing it could reprogram cells immune system that attacks the central nervous system in MS. They found signs that stem cell therapy had affected metabolism and therefore may have an anti-inflammatory effect. The higher the dose of stem cells, the higher the levels of fatty acids, which are key molecules in brain metabolism.
Whether this result is solely due to neural stem cells needs to be confirmed in further trials, but the researchers believe it is.
“I am cautious but very enthusiastic about our results, which constitute a step towards the development of a cell therapy for the treatment of multiple sclerosis,” Stefano Pluchino, who co-led the study, said in a press release. “We recognize, however, that our study has limitations. This was a small piece of research and it is possible that immunosuppressive medications may have had confounding effects.” he concludes.
What are the current treatments for multiple sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. A dysfunction of the immune system leads to lesions which cause motor, sensory, cognitive, visual or even sphincter disturbances (most often urinary and intestinal). In the more or less long term, these disorders can progress towards irreversible disability.
“While current treatments help reduce relapses and improve patients’ quality of life, they are most often insufficiently effective in preventing the progression of disability in the medium term,” indicates Inserm.
