БиоПро Выбор потребителя 2018 #04

Hematopoietic stem cells can provide a long-term advantage for patients with multiple sclerosis.

A new study found that intense immunosuppression followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can prevent disease progression in 71% of people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) within 10 years of treatment.

In addition, the new study also showed that some patients felt better 10 years after treatment. And in more than half of people with a secondary progressive form of MS, symptoms did not worsen for 10 years after transplantation.

The results were published in the online issue of the journal Neurology on January 20, 2021.

Most people with multiple sclerosis are first diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS, characterized by exacerbations of symptoms followed by periods of remission. In most patients, relapsing-remitting MS eventually progresses to a secondary progressive form, in which there is a gradual increase in symptoms.

In the present study, the researchers used healthy autologous hematopoietic stem cells from patients that after transplantation replaced diseased cells.

“So far, conventional treatments have prevented people with MS from experiencing more attacks and worsening symptoms, but not in the long term”, – said study author Matilde Inglese, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Genoa in Italy and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “Previous research shows more than half of the people with MS who take medication for their disease still get worse over a 10-year period. Our results are exciting because they show hematopoietic stem cell transplants may prevent someone’s MS disabilities from getting worse over the longer term.”

The study involved 210 people with multiple sclerosis who underwent a stem cell transplant from 1997 to 2019. Their average age was 35. Of these people, 122 had relapsing-remitting MS, 86 had secondary progressive MS, and two had primary progressive MS.

The researchers evaluated the participants’ health at six months, 5, and 10 years after transplantation.

A study conducted 5 years later showed that 80% of patients showed no signs of disease progression. After 10 years, 66% of subjects still showed no increase in MS symptoms.

In a study of patients with the most common form of the disease, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the researchers found that five years after transplantation, 86% of them had not progressed with the disease. Ten years later, 71% of study participants still showed no worsening.

In addition, patients with advanced MS have also demonstrated the beneficial effects of stem cell transplantation. The researchers found that 71% of people with this type of MS had no disease progression five years after the procedure. Ten years later, 57% of the patients remained stable, without deterioration.

“Our study demonstrates that intense immunosuppression followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplants should be considered as a treatment for people with MS, especially those who don’t respond to conventional therapy”, – Inglese said.

The study’s limitations were that it was retrospective, did not include a control group, and the clinicians who helped assess the participants were aware of the stem cell transplant that had been performed, which could lead to bias. Inglese said these limitations will be addressed in future research.