Stem cells Archives - The MS Wire

Stem Cell Transplants Get a Shot in the Arm

Posted on November 9, 2020November 8, 2020

Is the United States a step closer to approving a form of stem cell transplants as a treatment for multiple sclerosis? That’s because the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) has slightly changed its view of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or aHSCT. aHSCT involves removing a patient’s own stem cells from the blood or bone marrow, using chemotherapy to kill off most of the immune system, and then injecting the…Continue Reading

Stem Cell Transplants Versus DMTs – A trial seeks participants

Posted on January 20, 2020January 19, 2020

People with multiple sclerosis have been waiting for this: A full-scale clinical trial testing the effectiveness of stem cell transplans as an MS treatment. The trial is being conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and it’s enrolling people with MS at several centers in the United States and one in the United Kingdom. The U.S. has been behind the curve when it comes to approving stem cell transplants for…Continue Reading

Doors Shut on Stem Cell Program That Treated Semla Blair

Posted on September 24, 2019September 23, 2019

Richard Burt, MD, the chief of Northwestern Medicine’s immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases division, is taking a sabbatical, and the stem cell program he has headed for many years is shutting down. The clinic treated several people with MS, including actress Selma Blair. A group of 110 MS patients were involved in Burt’s phase 3 clinical trial of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), running from Sept. 20, 2005 to July 7,…Continue Reading

FTC Targets California Stem Cell Clinics

Posted on November 19, 2018November 17, 2018

“Deceptive” and “false” are two words used by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to describe marketing claims by two stem cell treatment clinics in California. According to an FTC complaint, the clinics had been advertising that they were using amniotic stem cell therapy to successfully treat serious diseases, including multiple sclerosis, autism, stroke, and heart attacks. The claims included one advertisement saying their treatment restored sight for a 101-year-old woman who had been…Continue Reading

Is This a Key that Unlocks a Door for MS Stem Cell Treatments?

Posted on April 30, 2018May 9, 2018

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 treatment barrier. But now, a crack may be appearing in that wall. An article in STAT reports on surgeons at Houston’s Memorial…Continue Reading

"People newly diagnosed with MS will truly benefit from this book, while those of us who’ve lived with MS for a while will wish we’d had it ourselves!…Neurologists should consider keeping a copy of this book in their waiting room because their patients are going to need it." - Tamara K. Sellman, reviewing for Multiple Sclerosis.net.

The Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox is designed for MS "newbies" but it's great info for everyone. I combine more than 40 years of living with MS with some easy to understand info about diagnosis, treatments, visiting the neuro, relationships, mobility aids, travel and more…a lot of what you get in this blog. A paperback and an e-book are available on Amazon.