A team of researchers at the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at Ottawa Hospital in Canada have made a huge breakthrough in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis patients, one that may potentially cure them for good.
24 MS patients underwent a risky procedure that involves the complete destruction and regeneration of the immune system using stem cell therapy. 23 are showing signs of full recovery. Unfortunately, the treatment is so intense, that one of the patients died.
“I hesitate to use the c-word. A cure would be stopping all disease moving forward and repairing all damage that has occurred,” Dr. Mark Freedman, the Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Unit at Ottawa Hospital and coordinator of the study.
Before this, current treatments only put MS into remission for up to a few years before returning, with a slew of symptoms associated with it that include issues with balance, vision, locomotion, and more.
News about a possible stem cell treatment to eradicate MS for good went viral in June 2016. Here are some of the headlines and full articles released at the time of the breakthrough:
IFLScience: High-Risk Stem Cell Therapy Found To Halt Multiple Sclerosis
Science Alert: An extreme new treatment has cured patients of MS
CNN: New stem cell treatment ‘halts’ effects of multiple sclerosis
Vox: Canadian doctors just reversed severe MS using stem cells
As more information is made about the treatment going forward, we will report here.