Stem cell treatment for MS in five years?

A reliable stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis could be available within five years if a large-scale human trial proves to be a success.

 

Scientists hope to show that stem cell replacement can slow, stop, or even reverse damage caused by the disease of the central nervous system.

Some 100,000 people in Britain suffer from MS, with symptoms that can include dizziness and lack of balance, muscle spasms and blurred vision. It tends to get worse over time and there is no cure.

However, later this year an international £10 million trial of up to 200 volunteers will begin looking at the effects of stem cell transplantation.

The participants, including 13 in Britain, will have stem cells harvested from their own bone marrow and grown in a laboratory before being re-injected into the bloodstream.

MS is caused by the immune system attacking a protective substance around nerve fibres called myelin. Where this happens scars, called lesions, are left behind.

 

The global stem cell trial will advance knowledge of their use for tackling MS 'by years' say scientists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hypothesis is that the stem cells will target these lesions and repair the damage.

Scientists in London and Edinburgh have received £1 million in joint funding from the MS Society and the UK Stem Cell Foundation for the British arm of the trial and two other studies.

Paolo Muraro, lead researcher on the study, based at Imperial College, London, said: “This is the first time that researchers from around the world have come together to test stem cell therapies in MS in such a large-scale clinical trial.

“A trial of this scale would be impossible to run in one location which is why this type of collaboration is essential if we are to make progress in this field.”

The trial will last between three and five years.

In recent years many people living with MS have been attracted to overseas stem cell clinics which claim to cure long-term conditions in exchange for large amounts of money.

However there is no proven stem cell therapy available for MS anywhere in the world.

It is hoped these new trials will eventually lead to a proven treatment and a reduction in the draw of overseas treatments.

Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society, said: “Stem cells hold tremendous potential as a future treatment option for people with MS.”

Sir Richard Sykes, chairman of the UK Stem Cell Foundation, said: “Given the high incidence of MS in the UK in comparison to other countries, I am delighted that we have at last progressed stem cell research to this stage, which will bring much-needed hope to so many people affected by this devastating condition.”

In 2009 American researchers reported they had managed to improve the symptoms of three MS patients using stem cells derived from fat.

Dr Boris Minev, from the University of California, said all had seen “dramatic improvement in their condition”.

The treatment appeared to stop seizures in one 50-year-old man, who had previously suffered about 200 a year.

The symptoms of the three people continued to improve almost a year after the stem cell injections, suggesting a long-lasting effect.