An innovative stem cell treatment developed by Hadassah-University Medical Center and NeuroGenesis has led to significant clinical improvements in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis, according to the results of a Phase II clinical trial.
The results of the placebo-controlled, randomized double-blind trial, which found that treatment not only halted progression of the disease but led to improvement in neurological ability, were published in Oxford University’s peer-reviewed journal Brain.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that plagues more than 2.3 million people worldwide, according to the US-based National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The disease causes damage in the myelin – the covering that protects the nerves and promotes efficient transmission of nerve impulses – as well as in the nerve cells of the central nervous system, ultimately leading to a neurological disability.
People with MS often experience tingling in their limbs or numbness, can have trouble walking and using their hands, and eventually can even become paralyzed.
The condition is also associated with visual problems. To date, not only is there no known cure, but people with progressive MS have few if any working treatments. Those that do exist are meant to reduce the incidence of relapse or marginally slow the progression of the disease. Hadassah’s development, known as NG-01, uses an “autologous proprietary subpopulation of mesenchymal stem cells.”
In layman's terms, the treatment uses cells derived from the bone marrow of MS patients themselves, ensuring that there is no element of rejection. The cells are injected into the spinal cord fluid of the patients’ central nervous system. The cells then travel to the site of injury and create a “repair ecosystem” in the lesion area, explained NeuroGenesis CEO Tal Gilat.
https://www.jpost.com/health-science...k-again-651475
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