Hematopoietic stem cell transplants may delay impairment longer than some other MS treatments in patients with active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The procedure used in the study, known as autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, involves replacing damaged cells with healthy blood stem cells taken from the patient's own body.
The benefits of current treatments for secondary progressive MS have moderate to slight benefits for patients enduring the disease. Hematopoietic stem cell transplants are a hopeful new treatment being analyzed and experimented on patients for the betterment and improvement of their symptoms. "Hematopoietic stem cell transplants have been previously found to delay disability in people with relapsing-remitting MS, but less is known about whether such transplants could help delay disability during the more advanced stage of the disease," said study author Matilde Inglese, MD, PhD, of the University of Genoa in Italy and a member of the American Academy of Neurology (Boffa). This stem cell transplant may be able to improve the quality of life for secondary progressive MS patients, and studies are currently being conducted to discover the improvements in the lives of patients suffering with the condition.
A study was conducted which comprised 1,975 MS drug-treated patients from the Italian MS registry and 79 patients with active secondary progressive MS who received stem cell transplantation. Five years into the study, scientists determined that compared to 46% of those who took drugs, 62% of those who received stem cell transplants did not have a worsening of their MS impairment (Boffa). Additionally, after five years, researchers discovered that recipients of stem cell transplants were more likely to see long-lasting benefits than those who received medicine, with 19% reporting less disability than at the beginning of the study.
Based on this study and the research being discovered through the use of this treatment, Hematopoietic stem cell transplants are a developing treatment that may vastly improve the quality of life for people with secondary progressive MS. It may serve as a life-changing source of comfort for patients struggling with the physical debilitations that come along with his progressive disease, and can prove to be a sense of hope in the improvement of their quality of life.
Works Cited
Boffa, Giancomo. “Stem cell transplants may delay disability longer than some MS medications.” ScienceDaily, 21 December 2022,
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants, an Advancement for Patients with Secondary Progressive MS By: Myra Sheikh
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/12/221221165109.htm. Accessed 31December 2022.
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