MS Society Announces 2.4 Million Dollars To Continue Ottawa Bone
Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Trial
Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis News
Article Date: 19 Jul 2007 - 1:00 PDT
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada announced a 2.4 million
dollars grant to continue a closely-watched clinical trial involving
an experimental bone marrow stem cell transplant therapy. The trial
is being conducted by a team of Canadian MS specialists led by Dr.
Mark Freedman and Dr. Harry Atkins in Ottawa.
"The aim of the study was to see if this treatment protocol could
halt deterioration in a group of MS patients with rapidly progressive
disease," says Jon Temme, vice president of client services and
research for the MS Society. "Currently, the majority of the 18
patients have stabilized or improved, and the focus of this second
phase of the trial will be to determine if this stabilization can be
maintained."
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease of the brain
and spinal cord. Between 55,000 and 75,000 Canadians have MS making
it the most common neurological disease of young adults in Canada.
Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40.
MS symptoms are unpredictable and vary greatly from person to person
but can include: double or blurred vision; extreme fatigue; loss of
balance; stiffness of muscles; speech problems; bladder and bowel
problems; and even partial or complete paralysis.
"The idea behind this clinical trial is to replace the diseased
immune system with a new one derived from the patient's own bone
marrow stem cells," explains Dr. Harry Atkins, a scientist at the
Ottawa Health Research Institute, bone marrow transplant specialist
at the Ottawa Hospital, and assistant professor at the University of
Ottawa. "First we purify and freeze the patient's stem cells, then we
use strong chemotherapy to destroy their existing immune system, and
then we transplant the purified stem cells back into the patient. It
takes time, but eventually these stem cells will form a completely
new immune system - one that does not attack the brain and spinal
cord - we hope."
A similar procedure has been used to treat certain types of blood
cancer for more than 25 years, but applying the procedure to treat
autoimmune diseases such as MS is novel.
"We hoped that this therapy would halt or slow the progression of MS,
and in the patients examined so far, it seems to have worked," says
Dr. Mark Freedman, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Health Research
Institute, director of the Ottawa Hospital MS Clinic, and professor
at the University of Ottawa. "In addition, some patients have
experienced substantial improvements in their ability to see and
walk. This was unexpected, and it suggests the exciting possibility
that the therapy may be contributing to some sort of repair or
regeneration. With this funding, we can investigate this further."
The researchers note that the therapy is highly experimental and
potential side effects are serious, but the knowledge gained could
lead to significant improvements in the treatment of MS and other
autoimmune diseases.
The grant to extend the project comes from the MS Scientific Research
Foundation which receives the majority of its funding from the MS
Society of Canada.
About the Ottawa Health Research Institute
The Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI) is the research arm of
The Ottawa Hospital and an affiliated institute of the University of
Ottawa. The OHRI includes more than 1,200 scientists, clinicians,
graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and staff conducting
research to improve the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of human disease.
http://www.ohri.
About the MS Society of Canada
Founded in 1948, the MS Society has a membership of 28,000, with
seven regional divisions and nearly 120 chapters. The MS Society
provides services for people with MS, family members and caregivers.
The MS Society also offers a unique support network for children and
teenagers with MS and their parents. The MS Society raises funds to
support research and services almost entirely through individual and
corporate donations and fundraising events across the country.
http://www.medicaln
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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