Stem Cells: you’ve heard about them but do you really know how they can help your life with MS? The fact is, the most popular stem cell treatments are for active relapsing-remitting MS. As you know, this is not great news for people with progressive MS. It can sound like yet another remedy for relapsing MS (Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!), but what about progressive?
Kate Milliken recently interviewed Dr. Fred Lublin on the future of progressive MS treatments, and on November 23, 2016, Kate Milliken spoke with Dr. Saud A. Sadiq, Director & Chief Research Scientist, about the use of stem cells to repair damage in progressive MS patients.
In their talk, Kate and Dr. Sadiq discuss his treatment to repair disability. Dr. Sadiq explains,
“Up to the time we got involved, there were treatments for the disease, but once you develop the disability and you had deficits and then you became progressive, and you then said “I want to stop using my cane. I want to stop using my walker. I want to get out of the wheelchair. I want to be able to use my hands. There was really no treatment for that. So, our approach for the last 15 years was trying to develop treatments that would induce repair. And would hopefully be able to do that.”
Watch the above video to learn more about stem cells in the realm of progressive MS and what’s in store for 2017.
Science is only as good as the integrity with which it is performed and the honesty with which it is conveyed.
Not sure how Dr. Sadiq can claim:
“We did not see any serious adverse effects in any of the 20 patients, nobody needed to be hospitalized…patients tolerated the stem cell infusions pretty easily.”
Noting that in Feb 2016, Richard Cohen posted this on his blog:
“My flirtation with stem cells is winding down, the Phase One portion of the festivities coming to a close…I did not win any medals. My pulmonary embolism and a debilitating skin condition, diagnosed as Erythrodermic Psoriasis (another autoimmune disease), followed on the heels of the first infusion.”