PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsAdult stem cells reverse multiple sclerosis in UK trial

BioNews

Adult stem cells reverse multiple sclerosis in UK trial

Published 22 January 2016 posted in News and appears in BioNews 836

Author

Dr Lanay Griessner

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.

A stem cell treatment routinely used for bone and blood cancers is showing promise at reversing the effects of multiple sclerosis...

A stem cell treatment routinely used for bone and blood cancers is showing promise at reversing the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The treatment, known as autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), uses chemotherapy to break down the patient's faulty immune system. Stem cells are then harvested and re-infused into the patient to 'reboot' their immune system. Within two weeks, new red and white blood cells start to grow.

Over two million people worldwide are affected by MS. The body's own immune system attacks and damages the myelin – the protective layer that surrounds nerve fibres. This damage impairs nerve-cell transmission in the brain and the spinal cord, causing widespread disability. Although some drugs exist to help with early symptoms of the disease, there is currently no cure.

'There has been resistance to this in the pharma and academic world. This is not a technology you can patent and we have achieved this without industry backing,' Professor Richard Burt of Northwestern University in Chicago told the BBC.

This past week, the BBC documentary Panorama was given access to some of the patients treated with HSCT in a trial at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

These include Holly Dewry, who was diagnosed with MS at the age of 21. 'Within a couple of months I got worse and worse. I couldn't dress or wash myself; I didn't even have the strength to carry my daughter,' she said in the documentary.

Holly needed a wheelchair before her transplant, but after the treatment she walked out of hospital. 'It's been a miracle. I got my life and my independence back, and the future is bright again.'

Two years on she has suffered no relapses and there is no evidence of active disease on her scans.

'Ongoing research suggests stem cell treatments such as HSCT could offer hope, and it's clear that in the cases highlighted by Panorama they've had a life-changing impact,' Dr Emma Gray, head of clinical trials at UK's Multiple Sclerosis Society, told the BBC.

So far only around 20 patients have been treated with the technique for MS, but the results have been called miraculous. 'This is not a word I would use lightly, but we have seen profound neurological improvements,' Professor Basil Sharrack, a consultant neurologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospital's NHS Foundation Trust, told the Telegraph.

Doctors involved in the research stress that the treatment may not suitable to everyone with MS and results, though encouraging, are still preliminary.

The trial now aims to assess the long-term benefits of the stem cell transplant for MS. It includes patients with relapsing, remitting MS, which involves flare-ups of symptoms that can last from days to months. The international trial is being conducted at Sheffield as well as hospitals in the US, Sweden and Brazil.

Related Articles

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
26 February 2018 • 2 minutes read

Human stem cells help paraplegic rats walk again

by Ewa Zotow

Paraplegic rats were able to walk after being treated with human stem cells. This is the first time lower body movement has been restored after an animal's spinal cord has been completely severed...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
25 September 2017 • 2 minutes read

Gene therapy reverses multiple sclerosis in mice

by Sarah Gregory

A novel gene therapy can reverse the symptoms and progression of disease in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis...

PET BioNews
News
25 April 2017 • 3 minutes read

Stem cell treatment halts multiple sclerosis for five years

by Jamie Rickman

A study has demonstrated that a new, one-off stem cell treatment for multiple sclerosis can 'freeze' progression of the disease for five years in some patients...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
25 April 2016 • 2 minutes read

Mitochondrial mutations could hamper stem cell therapies

by Dr Julia Hill

A study has found that stem cells from older people accumulate high numbers of mitochondrial DNA mutations, which could limit their therapeutic value...

Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
Image by Dr Christina Weis. © Christina Weis
News
4 September 2015 • 1 minute read

Woman with MS gives birth to granddaughter

by Ari Haque

A woman in the USA who acted as a surrogate for her daughter has given birth to her biological granddaughter...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
28 August 2015 • 2 minutes read

Genetic findings confirm vitamin D—MS link

by Lubna Ahmed

A recent study by researchers in Canada has found that people who are genetically susceptible to low vitamin-D levels are at a higher risk of multiple sclerosis...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
26 January 2015 • 2 minutes read

Stem cells partially reverse disability in small MS trial

by Dr Tamara Hirsch

An early clinical trial investigating a new form of stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis has demonstrated neurological improvement and enhanced quality of life for patients...

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
6 June 2014 • 2 minutes read

Human embryonic stem cells perform well in multiple sclerosis mouse study

by Isobel Steer

Human embryonic stem cells have been shown to be more effective in treating multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice than bone marrow stem cells, a study has found...

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
16 May 2014 • 2 minutes read

Human stem cells reverse multiple sclerosis in mice

by Alice Plein

Mice with a viral form of multiple sclerosis are able to walk again after receiving a transplant of human stem cells, scientists report...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Row breaks out over 'official history' of CRISPR

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

UK report reveals public attitudes to fertility, genomics and embryo research

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Shortage of sperm donors despite men willing to donate

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

North East London CCG proposes offering three funded IVF cycles

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Fibrosis drugs reverse ovarian ageing in mice

27 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Gene implicated in motor neurone diseases discovered

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856