Radical MS treatment can halt disease – but could be fatal

A radical treatment for multiple sclerosis has given a number of trial volunteers their lives back - but it comes with a deadly dilemma.

MS causes the immune system to attack the protective layer around nerve fibres in the spinal cord, optic nerves and brain, which can leave patients paralysed and blind.

Using a procedure more commonly used to treat leukaemia, the new therapy "erases" the patient's immune system via chemotherapy and then "reboots" it with a transfusion of stem cells previously collected from the patient and purified.

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However, the treatment comes with astounding risks and leaves the patients dangerously vulnerable until the stem cells take effect. One of the 24 volunteers in the latest medical trial died after developing a liver infection.

On the other hand, the potential benefits are equally astounding. Although the treatment only aims to halt the progress of the disease, some patients reported a life-changing improvement in their condition.

Follow-up reports on the 24 patients in the trial, carried out at the Ottawa Hospital, revealed that MS symptoms had halted in 70 per cent of patients and 40 per cent went into remission.

Canadian Jennifer Molson told New Scientist that when she had needed a wheelchair when she volunteered.

"I took a leap of faith. I felt like I would be kicking myself if I didn't take this chance," she said. After 18 months, her symptoms began to disappear and now she can walk, work full-time and enjoy skiing holidays with her husband.

"This is very exciting," Dr Harold Atkins told the Daily Telegraph. He cautioned that the therapy had "serious side effects and risks" and was only appropriate for a small proportion of MS patients.