Providing information will help remove or eliminate prejudice and discrimination associated with Multiple Sclerosis.
New Study: Stem Cells Can Help Induce MS Remission
For Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, we’re highlighting a publication in the journal Neurology from researchers in Italy that suggests that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) — the same kind of cells found in cord blood — can help prevent worsening disabilities in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
MS is a common and debilitating autoimmune condition that affects the nervous system. While the specifics remain unknown, scientists believe it could be due to an immune system dysfunction that destroys the protective insulation (called myelin) coating nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.1
Treatment typically includes drugs that work to reduce inflammation, improve motor and cognitive function, and improve fatigue and depression.
Why Stem Cells Could Help
For more than twenty years, researchers have been evaluating the use of HCSs from bone marrow to treat MS. Last year, we reported an ongoing clinical trial that is testing whether a HSC transplant (HSCT) could help “reset the immune system” and stop or suppress further damage.
Early clinical trials found that patients who receive a HSCT show improved neurological outcomes and quality of life, but until now there has been no long-term data to determine the stability of these improvements over time.
What Does the Study Say?
This 20-year study out of Italy includes 210 individuals who underwent a HSCT for MS between 1997 and 2019. The majority were diagnosed with a relapsing form of multiple sclerosis and had a moderate-to-high level of disability, meaning they required the help of a cane or crutch for mobility.
As is standard, patients received chemotherapy prior to their HSCT. This is a necessary step to deplete the bone marrow and “make room” for the stem cell transplant. It is also believed to eliminate the faulty autoimmune behaviors of the patient’s own immune cells.
The results?
More than half of participants (65.5%) showed no signs of their disability worsening 10 years after receiving their transplant. This suggests that HSCs can help prevent worsening disabilities in patients with MS!
What This Means For Newborn Stem Cells
Since HSCs, like those collected from bone marrow and peripheral blood for stem cell transplants, are also found in cord blood, it is possible that one day cord blood could be used to reset the immune systems of patients with multiple sclerosis or other autoimmune diseases. Please note that these therapies are only in their research stages, so it is not currently feasible to treat these conditions with HSCs. However, we believe the future looks bright.
Another Reason To Preserve
Expecting families now have another reason to consider preserving their baby’s newborn stem cells, and those who have already preserved have another reason to feel comforted about these future possibilities.
Expecting a child? Have friends or family who are expecting? Enroll with us today or log into your account for your unique referral code. When someone you refer preserves with CBR, you’ll get one year of free cord blood storage—and they’ll receive special pricing on our cord blood and cord tissue bundle.
References: 1. Sharrack, B., Saccardi, R., Alexander, T. et al. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and other cellular therapy in multiple sclerosis and immune-mediated neurological diseases: updated guidelines and recommendations from the EBMT Autoimmune Diseases Working Party (ADWP) and the Joint Accreditation Committee of EBMT and ISCT (JACIE). Bone Marrow Transplant 55, 283–306 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-019-0684-0
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Stem Cells Face Off Against Leading Drugs In MS Trial
https://blog.cordblood.com/2020/03/stem-cells-face-off-against-leading-drugs-in-ms-trial/
For Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, we wanted to highlight a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
They’ll be testing whether hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), the same kind of cells found in cord blood, will perform better than leading drugs in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), an immune disorder affecting more than 2.3 million people worldwide.1
A Brief History of Stem Cells and MS
HSCs have a long history of being studied for MS. And there’s a good amount of evidence to support their efficacy, too.
In fact, a 2017 analysis of 15 previously published studies involving 764 subjects found that, overall, stem cell transplants showed a significant benefit against disease activity and progression for certain patients with an aggressive form of MS.2
How Stem Cells Could Help3
While the specific cause of MS remains unknown, scientists believe it could be due to an immune system dysfunction that destroys the protective insulation (called myelin) coating nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.4 They hypothesize that a HSC transplant could help “reset the immune system” and stop or suppress further damage.
New Trial Starts Soon
Researchers are selecting 156 patients with a highly active form of MS that has not responded to drugs or other treatments. Patients will have their own stem cells collected and stored before undergoing intensive conditioning meant to remove the dysfunctional immune cells. Their stem cells will then be infused, generating a new, properly functioning immune system.
Neurologists will then periodically examine the participants and evaluate their level of disability over the next six years. They’ll also compare the developing immune systems of recipients of stem cell transplants with those of the participants who receive the drugs.
Translation: Stem cells will be facing off against prescription drugs in the treatment of MS.
“We hope that BEAT-MS will clarify the best way to treat people with relapsing MS,” said Jeffrey A. Cohen, M.D., a professor of neurology leading the trial.
This isn’t the first time we’ve reported on newborn stem cells’ potential to help treat diseases in different ways than prescription drugs. Last year, Heather Brown, Vice President of Clinical Innovation at CBR, told us that it was conceivable that one day stem cells could reduce the need for prescription drugs for certain conditions, because “while prescriptions only treat the symptoms of a condition, stem cells can help treat the root causes of conditions.”
Another Reason To Bank
Expecting families now have another reason to consider banking their baby’s cord blood, and those who have already banked have another reason to get excited about the future possibilities.
Expecting a child? Have friends or family who are expecting? Enroll with us today or log into your account for your unique referral code. When someone you refer banks with CBR, you’ll get one year of free cord blood storage—and they’ll receive special pricing on our cord blood and cord tissue bundle!
References
1.
New multiple sclerosis treatment trial compares stem cell
transplantation to best available drugs. National Institutes of Health.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/new-multiple-sclerosis-treatment-trial-compares-stem-cell-transplantation-best-available-drugs.
Published January 8, 2020. Accessed February 24, 2020.
2. Sormani
MP, Muraro PA, Schiavetti I, et al. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation in multiple sclerosis. Neurology.
https://n.neurology.org/content/88/22/2115.abstract. Published May 30,
2017. Accessed February 24, 2020.
3. Best Available Therapy Versus
Autologous Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplant for Multiple Sclerosis
(BEAT-MS) – Full Text View. Best Available Therapy Versus Autologous
Hematopoetic Stem Cell Transplant for Multiple Sclerosis (BEAT-MS) –
Full Text View – ClinicalTrials.gov.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04047628. Accessed February 27,
2020.
4. Sharrack, B., Saccardi, R., Alexander, T. et al. Autologous
haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and other cellular therapy in
multiple sclerosis and immune-mediated neurological diseases: updated
guidelines and recommendations from the EBMT Autoimmune Diseases Working
Party (ADWP) and the Joint Accreditation Committee of EBMT and ISCT
(JACIE). Bone Marrow Transplant 55, 283–306 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-019-0684-0
Providing information will help remove or eliminate prejudice and discrimination associated with Multiple Sclerosis.
Stem cell transplant 'game changer' for MS patients · 18 March 2018
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-43435868
Fergus Walsh Medical correspondent @BBCFergusWalsh on Twitter
Results from an international trial show that it was able to stop the disease and improve symptoms.
It involves wiping out a patient's immune system using cancer drugs and then rebooting it with a stem cell transplant.
Louise Willetts, 36, from Rotherham, is now symptom-free and told me: "It feels like a miracle."
A total of 100,000 people in the UK have MS, which attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
Just over 100 patients took part in the trial, in hospitals in Chicago, Sheffield, Uppsala in Sweden and Sao Paulo in Brazil.
They all had relapsing remitting MS - where attacks or relapses are followed by periods of remission.
The interim results were released at the annual meeting of the European Society for Bone and Marrow Transplantation in Lisbon.
The patients received either haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or drug treatment.
After one year, only one relapse occurred among the stem cell group compared with 39 in the drug group.
After an average follow-up of three years, the transplants had failed in three out of 52 patients (6%), compared with 30 of 50 (60%) in the control group.
Those in the transplant group experienced a reduction in disability, whereas symptoms worsened in the drug group.
Prof Richard Burt, lead investigator, Northwestern University Chicago, told me: "The data is stunningly in favour of transplant against the best available drugs - the neurological community has been sceptical about this treatment, but these results will change that."
The treatment uses chemotherapy to destroy the faulty immune system.
Stem cells taken from the patient's blood and bone marrow are then re-infused.
These are unaffected by MS and they rebuild the immune system.
Prof John Snowden, haematologist and director of blood and bone marrow transplantation at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital, told me: "We are thrilled with the results - they are a game changer for patients with drug resistant and disabling multiple sclerosis".
Prof Basil Sharrack, neurologist and director of MS research at Royal Hallamshire Hospital, told me: "This is interim analysis, but with that caveat, this is the best result I have seen in any trial for multiple sclerosis."
'Lived in fear'
Louise was diagnosed with MS in 2010 when she was only 28.
She told me: "MS ruled my life and I lived in fear of the next relapse.
"The worst time was not being able to get out of bed because I had no stability in my body - I struggled to walk and even spent time in a wheelchair.
"It also affected my cognition - it was like a brain fog and I misread words and struggled to keep up with conversations."
The BBC's Panorama filmed her undergoing her transplant in October 2015 and she is now back to full health.
She got married to her partner Steve, on the first anniversary of her transplant, and their baby daughter Joy is now a month old.
"I feel like my diagnosis was just a bad dream. I live every day as I want to, rather than planning my life around my MS."
The transplant costs around £30,000, about the same as the annual price of some MS drugs.
Doctors stress it is not suitable for all MS patients and the process can be gruelling, involving chemotherapy and a few weeks in isolation in hospital.
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, director of research at the MS Society, said the stem cell transplant HSCT "will soon be recognised as an established treatment in England - and when that happens our priority will be making sure those who could benefit can actually get it".
She added: "We've seen life-changing results for some people and having that opportunity can't depend on your postcode."
Follow Fergus on Twitter.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Providing information will help remove or eliminate prejudice and discrimination associated with Multiple Sclerosis.
Most MS Patients Who Received Stem Cell Transplants Still in Remission Years Later
Written by Jeri Burtchell on January 7, 2015
Most of the multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who took part in the cutting-edge stem cell study HALT-MS are still in remission years later. The phase 2 study has demonstrated impressive results by rebuilding the immune system using a patient’s own stem cells.
Studying 24 study volunteers who underwent stem cell transplants between 2006 and 2010, Dr. Richard A. Nash of the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute in Denver and his colleagues recently published their findings in JAMA Neurology.
Researchers found that more than 86 percent of the patients remained relapse free after three years, and nearly 91 percent showed no sign of disease progression.
Learn More About Stem Cell Research »
Building a New Immune System, from the Ground Up
The goal was to reboot the patients’ immune systems. The researchers gauged success based on how long the patients remained relapse-free.
The study involved patients with relapsing-remitting MS whose disease did not respond to at least one FDA-approved disease-modifying drug. Patients also had to score between 3.0 and 5.5 on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), a set of tests to measure walking, cognition, dexterity, and quality of life in MS patients. People who fall into this range typically have mild to moderate disability.
Patients were given high-dose immunosuppressive therapy, or HDIT, to erase their native immune system. Then, researchers reintroduced blood-forming stem cells that had been harvested from the patients’ own blood.
Most of the multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who took part in the cutting-edge stem cell study HALT-MS are still in remission years later. The phase 2 study has demonstrated impressive results by rebuilding the immune system using a patient’s own stem cells.
Studying 24 study volunteers who underwent stem cell transplants between 2006 and 2010, Dr. Richard A. Nash of the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute in Denver and his colleagues recently published their findings in JAMA Neurology.
Researchers found that more than 86 percent of the patients remained relapse free after three years, and nearly 91 percent showed no sign of disease progression.
Learn More About Stem Cell Research »
The scientists thought that perhaps the new immune system would no longer see the myelin covering of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord as a threat. If the stem cells could halt the myelin attacks, the MS disease process would be stopped.
“On average patients were hospitalized for three to four weeks,” said Nash in an interview with Healthline. That allowed enough time for the immune system to regenerate so patients could safely return home.
“Patients are immunosuppressed, so they are on prophylactic antimicrobial medications. They are also educated regarding how to reduce the risk of infections after transplant,” explained Nash.
-= -= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Cord Blood web site: https://www.cordblood.com/