February 27, 2024 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Stem cell therapy for MS seen to lower mitochondrial DNA in study People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have higher amounts of mitochondrial DNA in their spinal fluid, which surrounds the brain and spinal cord, than do their healthy counterparts, a small study found. Mitochondria are small cellular organelles that produce most of the energy needed to power cells. These cell powerhouses…
November 30, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Stem cell therapy well tolerated in SPMS clinical trial A novel therapy in which neural stem cells are injected into the brain was well tolerated by 15 people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) in a pilot clinical trial. Participants’ disability levels and cognition, as well as markers of inflammation and nerve damage, all remained stable for up…
June 27, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Stem cell therapy highly effective in active RRMS: Real-world study Nearly 80% of adults with highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were free of relapses or confirmed disability worsening two years after receiving stem cell transplant, according to a real-world study in Denmark. Moreover, more than two-thirds (69%) of these RRMS patients achieved a clinical outcome called NEDA-3, or…
May 17, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Stem cell therapy may do most good when given early People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have never received treatment with a disease-modifying therapy tend to have better long-term outcomes after stem cell transplant, according to a recent report from a center in Mexico. The findings suggest that stem cell therapy may be most beneficial when given…
April 25, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS AAN 2023: MSC-NP aids walking in advanced progressive MS patients Use of the cell therapy MSC-NP failed to show a significant effect on overall disability scores among people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. Results, however, indicated that MSC-NP improved walking ability for people with more advanced disease ā…
March 10, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Stem cell therapy MSC-NP can ease inflammatory activity in brain cells MSC-NP, a form of stem cell therapy that’s currently in early clinical trials for multiple sclerosis (MS), can reduce the inflammatory activity of brain immune cells called microglia, according to a new study. The therapy is known to reduce disease severity and improve myelin regeneration in animal models of…
September 16, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS NurOwn Found Safe, Shows Promise in Phase 2 Trial for Progressive MS NurOwn, a stem cell therapy being developed by BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, showed a good safety profile among people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in an open-label Phase 2 clinical trial, according to new data. The data show the experimental therapy also was associated with promising effects on…
December 16, 2020 News by Aisha I Abdullah PhD Stem Cell Therapy Shows 2-year Benefit for Progressive MS Patients in Phase 1 Trial Lesser or stable disability over two years was evident in most progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) patients given a stem cell treatment in a small Phase 1 clinical trial, supporting a larger study now underway, researchers report. These results suggest that a treatment using mesenchymal stem…
September 13, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD #ECTRIMS2019 – Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplants Safe and Help Stop Progressive MS, Trial Data Show Transplanting mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is safe and can delay disease progression in people with active, progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results from a single-center clinical trial conducted in Israel. Six months after the transplant, a considerable proportion of patients showed no signs of disease activity, compared to…
May 23, 2019 Columns by Tamara Sellman Need to Know: What Are Stem Cells? Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum.Ā This week’s question is inspired by the forum topicĀ “Has anyone had the stem cell procedure?” from Jan. 11. Youāve no doubt heard…
September 6, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Stem Cell Therapy and Circumvention Tourism Medical tourism is a term describing when people seek medical care by traveling from home countries to somewhere else. Itās an area of commerce that has existed for centuries, as people in ancient Greece once traveled to far away islands to visit healing gods. Medical tourism continues today, and…
June 29, 2018 Columns by John Connor ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ I started out in my professional life as a journalist. This only lasted about eight years and feels like a lifetime ago ā which it was. Though I was not a news hound, I learned to smell a story. Last week’s column,Ā “A Tale of Two Halves,”Ā juxtaposed bad MS…
April 20, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Is This the Key that Unlocks Stem Cell Treatments for MS? Americans who want to treat their MS with a stem cell transplant have a tough road to follow. They’re forced to travel to Russia, Mexico, or somewhere else out of the country and to spend a lot of money to avoid the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s stem cell…
March 29, 2018 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Stem Cell Therapy, Sx, Synapse, and Other ‘S’ Terms Editor’s note: Tamara Sellman continues her series on the “MS alphabet” with this column referencing terms starting with the letter “S.” Last in a series of five. Symptoms of MS Spasticity This refers to the muscle stiffness and issues with muscular control and abnormal muscle tone that…
August 9, 2017 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD India’s Advancells Reports Successful Reversal of MS in Single Patient Using Stem Cell Therapy AdvancellsĀ says its stem cell-based therapy completely reversed multiple sclerosis (MS) in an Indian pilot trial with only one MS patient. The patient, Rahul Gupta, was diagnosed with MS seven years ago and has since suffered multiple relapses. His disease was progressing fast and he was quickly losing his ability…
August 4, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias A Warning About ‘Stem Cell Tourism’ I regularly see comments on various social media sites from MS patients who have traveled, or who plan to travel, outside the U.S. to be treated with stem cells. Some of these patients have reported excellent results and a reversal of symptoms. Others have died. Many MS patients…
July 17, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye This Week: Stem Cell Cautions, Myelin Mystery, Amprya Study and Zinbryta in the EU In case you missedĀ them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week. Experts Call for Tighter Regulation of Stem Cell Therapies in Use at Clinics Worldwide I read a lot of comments on various social…
January 4, 2017 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD Top 10 Multiple Sclerosis Articles of 2016 A number ofĀ important discoveries, therapeutic developments, and events related to multiple sclerosis (MS) were reported dailyĀ by Multiple Sclerosis News Today throughout 2016. Now that the year is over, it is time to briefly review the articles that appealed most toĀ ourĀ readers. Here are the top 10 most-read articles of 2016, with…
August 31, 2016 Columns by admin Welcome or Not, FDA Focuses on Stem Cell Treatments News that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to hold a public hearing next month to consider greater oversight of stem cell clinics operating in the country is as welcome as it is late. I say “late” because, while the regulators have been twiddling their fingers,…
August 22, 2016 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski HSCT as MS Therapy: An American’s Tale Karen Staman and I met a while back through a National Institute of Health and Duke University research collaborative effort.Ā She is a scientific writer by trade, which means she sits through lots of conversation and puts everyone elseās thoughts into cohesive sentences that can then be published, and…
August 17, 2016 Columns by admin New Pre-HSCT Treatment May Be the Future, but HSCT with Lower Dose Chemo is Right Choice for MS Patients Now News that scientists in the U.S. are working to find a new pre-HSCT treatment to carry out stem cell transplants without the need for chemotherapy, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today, leaves me with mixed feelings. While such a development could potentially be great news and an…
July 25, 2016 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski MS BLOG: Sort Anecdotal Claims, Real Science Before Research Treatments Can we all agree that research studies are important and they are necessary to prove whether a concept works or it doesnāt? Even from the biggest failures, we can learn more. We can also all agree that research has to be done via properly conducted studies to be accepted as…
June 29, 2016 Columns by admin MS Clinic Using ‘Liberation Therapy’ Being Investigated for Alleged False Claims Allegations that false claims regarding treatment were made to potential patients, as well as one of its proponents having at least one fake degree, are being leveled against a stem cell clinic that was operating in India two years ago. The clinicĀ was notĀ offering HSCT, but rather a form of combination…
June 6, 2016 Columns by admin Stem Cell Transplants – an Exciting MS Therapy Development Stem cell treatment of MS, whichĀ came under the spotlight at last weekās 16th Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) when Dr. Mark Freedman discussed the procedure, is an exciting area within the development of therapies. Dr. Freedman, professor of medicine (neurology) at the…
February 22, 2016 News by admin MS Stem Cell Therapies Show Promise, But More Work Is Needed, Researcher Tells ACTRIMS 2016 Dr. Andrew Goodman of the University of RochesterĀ discussedĀ the latest research and perspectives on stem cell strategiesĀ forĀ people with multiple sclerosis (MS), saying in a presentation at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum 2016Ā thatĀ such therapies, while promising,Ā are not yet ready for widespread clinical use. New therapies…
February 2, 2016 News by admin Individual with PPMS Shares His Experience of Undergoing Stem Cell Therapy Geoff Flynn,Ā 42, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) two and a half years ago. As unsettling as that diagnosis was, more troubling ā both then and now ā were the five long years of struggle it took for him to get a proper evaluation as to the cause ofĀ his neurological…
January 21, 2016 News by Charles Moore FDA Invites Comment on Pending Stem Cell Therapy Regulations The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold a one-day public hearingĀ on four recent draft guidelines regarding theĀ regulation of human cells, tissues, or cellular or tissue-based products (HCT/Ps). Critics of the proposed regulations warnĀ that they curtail the medical use of autologous cell therapy and biologics, and their future potential…