New evidence on the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A new study is adding to evidence that people with multiple sclerosis can benefit from a type of stem cell transplant -- including some patients who are in a more advanced phase of the disease.
The research is the latest look at a potential alternative treatment for some patients with MS -- using their own blood stem cells to try to reboot their faulty immune systems.
Studies have found that the approach may benefit some patients in the earlier stages of MS. Now, the new findings suggest the same could be true of some patients in the second phase of the disease, known as secondary progressive MS.
Researchers found that among more than 2,000 Italian adults with secondary progressive MS, those who received the stem cell therapy fared better over five years than those taking standard medications.
Overall, 62% saw no worsening in their disability, compared with 46% of patients on medication. A small number -- 19% -- even maintained some improvement over five years, versus 4% in the medication group.
Experts said the findings add to evidence of the promise of the stem cell approach. But they also had important cautions.
For one, the study was not a clinical trial that directly tested stem cells against standard MS medications: It looked back at the records of patients treated for MS at various Italian medical centers somewhere between 1997 and 2019.
That means there could be "confounding factors" -- differences between patients who did or did not receive stem cell transplants -- that make it hard to draw conclusions, said Bruce Bebo, executive vice president of research for the National MS Society.
On top of that, patients taking MS medications did not receive the latest drugs approved for the disease. So it's unclear how those more targeted medications might stack up against stem cells.
Those are critical points, given that stem cell transplants are no small undertaking, according to researcher Dr. Matilde Inglese, head of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of Genoa in Italy.
The whole process takes about three months, including a hospital stay and a period where patients have a severely compromised immune system. Ideally, Inglese said, eligible patients would get into a clinical trial testing stem cells against the best available MS drugs.
One such trial, called BEAT-MS, is underway in the United States.
MS is a neurological disorder caused by a misguided immune system attack on the protective sheath around nerve fibers in the spine and brain. The symptoms include vision problems, muscle weakness, numbness and difficulty with balance and coordination.