Stem cell transplant helps MS patient
April 14, 2008
'I haven't felt this good since before I was diagnosed'
Darah Hansen, Canwest News Service
A midnight flight from Ottawa to Vancouver delivered something of a
miracle to Jacky and Tom Telder of Surrey, B.C.
There she was, the Telders' youngest child, Leah, walking towards
them in the airport lobby late Monday amidst the disembarking
passengers, grinning and waving a greeting.
As part of a new research project into helping those with MS, Leah
Telder, 24, has been in Ottawa undergoing specialized treatment to
put the MS into remission.
"That was amazing. She walked off . . . I mean, there she was,
actually walking," said Jacky of the moment.
Months earlier Leah, 24, had taken a similar flight, in the opposite
direction.
That time, she was among the last to board the plane, hobbling
unsteadily on a walker like an old woman.
The multiple sclerosis that has afflicted her since her teens had, by
that point, robbed her of most of her independence, blurred her
vision, muddled her thinking and sapped her strength.
"It was hard to use a knife and fork to even cut my own food," said
Leah.
At its worst, the disease -- a highly unpredictable auto-immune
disorder -- had temporarily confined the former ballet dancer to a
wheelchair. "Her body just fell apart," said her mother.
Hope for Leah came last October, when she became only the 17th -- and
the youngest -- MS patient in Canada to undergo a stem cell
transplant specifically aimed at curbing the progress of the disease.
Two weeks earlier, she'd checked into the Ottawa Hospital to take
part in an experimental medical study, led by Ontario neurologist Dr.
Mark Freedman and Dr. Harold Atkins, a bone-marrow transplant
specialist. Like the patients before her, Leah underwent heavy doses
of chemotherapy -- enough to completely wipe out her immune system
and cause her shoulder-length hair to fall out in chunks. Twice, she
endured an uncomfortable six-hour procedure during which she was
strapped to a chair, unable to even flinch, as a team of specialists
carefully siphoned stem cells from her blood.
"If she moved even a little, alarms would beep," said Jacky of the
extremely delicate procedure.
The stem cells were then sent to a laboratory where they
were "cleaned" before being pumped back into her body.
The theory behind the $4-million study is that pure stem cells will
find their way into the bone marrow and build up a new immune system
in the patient, free of MS. The trial began in 2001 and is funded by
the MS Scientific Research Foundation.
Qualifying patients are all between the ages of 18 and 50 and have
either failed conventional MS drug therapy, or like Leah, been too
sick to ever begin conventional treatment. Patients must show a rapid
progression of the disease, yet must still have enough strength to
walk, at least with a cane.
Study co-ordinator Marjorie Bowman said early results of the trial --
which aims to treat 24 patients in total -- will be published this
summer.
According to Bowman, one patient died as a result of the chemotherapy
(which is so strong, patients have a one in 20 chance of dying). Of
the 16 living patients, three have reported some progression of the
disease since undergoing treatment, while the remaining 13 have
experienced health improvements.
Leah is lucky enough to be in the latter category. "I haven't felt
this good since before I was diagnosed," she said.
She can walk on her own again and talk without difficulty. She can
make a cup of coffee -- something she hasn't been able to do since
she was 21.
And the majority of her vision has been restored.
http://www.canada.
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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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