![]() This procedure is also available at Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg through the same MESCAMS trial. This is a complex treatment with significant side effects (patients should discuss this in detail with their neurologist). Then they receive an intravenous infusion of their previously frozen HSCs, which expand in the body to give rise to a new immune system that no longer attacks the brain and spinal cord. The patient then receives strong chemotherapy to completely eliminate their existing, defective immune system. Using chemotherapy and a stimulating drug, the patient’s own HSCs are mobilized from the bone marrow into the bloodstream where they are extracted and purified in a specialized laboratory and then frozen. The first step is to obtain the cells capable of replacing the defective immune system. The MSCs are maintained frozen, and later thawed, then infused back into the same patient, intravenously. MSCs are extracted from the patient’s own bone marrow and expanded over several weeks in a specialized culture laboratory. The new immune system no longer attacks the brain and spinal cord. These cells can be found in adult bone marrow and blood, as well as umbilical cord blood, and they can give rise to all of the cells that make up the blood and immune system. A new immune system is regenerated from Hematopoietic Stem Cells, or HSCs. This procedure uses very high doses of chemotherapy and antibodies to eliminate the defective immune system. reduce inflammation) and release factors that help prevent and repair tissue damage. Although they can give rise to other cell types, their therapeutic potential seems to come more from their ability to modify the immune system (i.e. These cells can be found in adult bone marrow, fat and skin tissue, as well as umbilical cord blood. This procedure uses Mesenchymal Stem Cells, which are also called Mesenchymal Stromal Cells or MSCs. What type of stem cell is used and how do these cells work? This treatment is currently available for appropriate patients. ![]() The Ottawa Hospital has performed a clinical trial of this treatment (summarized at in trial NCT01099930), which has now been completed. People with MS who have had significant disability for a long time would likely not benefit. This therapy is used only for patients with aggressive (but still early) forms of MS in whom existing therapies have not thoroughly contained disease activity. This trial can only accept patients (aged 18 to 50) with relapsing-remitting MS in whom at least one of the existing therapies has not thoroughly contained disease activity, as well as those with secondary and primary progressive forms of MS that continue to have active disease activity.įor detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria, see trial NCT02239393 at. This therapy is experimental, and is only available through participation in the MESCAMS clinical trial. ![]() Immunoablation and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation The other therapy being offered (Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy) is still experimental, but the hope is that it will reduce the immune system’s attack on the body and help repair nerve tissue. One of the therapies available at The Ottawa Hospital (called Immunoablation and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation) works by completely eliminating the body’s defective immune system and replacing it with a new healthy one derived from the body’s own bone marrow-derived hematopoietic stem cells. To understand these therapies, it is important to note that MS is an autoimmune disease that develops sometime after birth, when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the brain and spinal cord. If you think you may be eligible for one of these treatments, you should discuss the possibility with your neurologist and ask for a referral to The Ottawa Hospital’s MS Clinic (if you are not already a patient here). This page is meant to help people understand the two kinds of stem cell therapies available for MS at The Ottawa Hospital. Stem cell therapy holds promise for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), but it can be difficult for patients to find reliable information about the types of therapies available, their possible benefits and risks, and how to access these therapies.
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