Multiple Sclerosis Patients helped by autologous stem cell transplantation

            Patients with severe progressive multiple sclerosis have hope yet.10 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) that was refractory to conventional treatment participated in a phase I/II trial conducted by GL Mancardi MD and colleagues at the University of Genova, Italy. The key – autologous stem cell transplantation Three months prior to transplantation there were between 1 and 38 MRI – detectable lesions in these patients. The number of lesions dropped to zero in 8 patients in the month following transplant conditioning therapy, and only 1 patient had a detectable lesion in each of the first 3 post-transplant months. In the follow-up period of 4-30 months the results were quite encouraging as well. The patients exhibited no new lesions with this improvement presumably caused by the transplant suppressing the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and terminating the inflammatory phase of MS clinically. No major adverse events occurred with patients evaluated as stable or slightly improved during this period. Toxicities included weakness (all patients), fever (9 patients), transient liver enzyme increases (2 patients), urinary tract infection (2 patients) and cytomegalovirus reactivation (3 patients). There was only one patient who progressed 9 months post-transplant.

(Neurology July 10, 2001)