Member Article

Groundbreaking Treatment To Halt MS In Its Tracks

MS affects around 1.3 million people worldwide and over 100,000 in the UK alone. More than 80% of these people will go on to develop progressive disability, with 40% requiring a wheelchair approximately 10 years after diagnosis.

However, researchers and experts across the globe are very excited for the future of MS patients following the recent development of a game changing treatment called Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (AHSCT). This is a complex new procedure which involves wiping out a patient’s immune system via chemotherapy, and then reinfusing their own naïve stem cells through a transplant.

The aim of the procedure is to reset the immune system to stop it from attacking the central nervous system. As a result, the progression of MS is halted in its tracks and in some cases significant improvement of symptoms is seen!

In place of the current drug-centred immunotherapy treatments which are offered to patients, this one off treatment offers a 70% chance of stability over three years. The treatment is rigorous, but if successful patents may become completely anti-MS drug-free.

London Bridge Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare UK, was one of the first centres to run an AHSCT treatment programme for selected patients with MS, and remains one of the few centres in the UK to offer it today. The centre has recently launched the London Bridge Stem Cell Transplantation Programme, led by Consultant Haematologist Dr Majid Kazmi - one of the pioneers in AHSCT and Europe’s leading experts in this field.

Dr Majid Kazmi says: “We’re very excited for the future of MS patients following the recent development of Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (AHSCT).

I call it a ‘game changer’ because this is the first procedure which has, not only the potential to halt further progression of MS, but also to reverse disability in the early stages.

London Bridge Hospital was one of the first centres to run an AHSCT treatment programme for selected patients with MS, and we remain one of the few centres in the UK to offer it today.

If you have MS and would like to learn more about AHSCT, we have a team of consultants, clinical nurse specialists, physiotherapists and dieticians with extensive experience in this field who can assess your symptoms and decide whether it might be the right treatment for you.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by George May .