In 2004, researchers in Italy injected stern cells into mice in order to repair the damaged cause by a disease similar to multiple sclerosis. The results were more than satisfactory in mice, so a similar technique was developed to try to cure multiple sclerosis in humans. The results? More than satisfying!

Recently, in small trials using stern cell therapy on humans in an effort to cure multiple sclerosis proved that stern cell therapy is not only able to completely stop the progression of the illness, but it also reverses the damage. Needless to say, this is the first time in years when scientists got really close to finding a cure to a disease that is diagnosed in over 10,000 US citizens each year, and whose treatment was mostly symptomatic.  So finally, MS sufferers have a chance of living again a normal life.

The stern cell therapy is fairly easy and has two steps. First, the doctors take a couple of bone marrow stem cells and keep them alive outside the MS patient’s body. The second step is a cure of chemotherapy, which basically wipes out the patient’s immune system. After the patient has no immune system, the bone marrow stem cells are placed back into your body. Since these are the patient’s own cells, the patient’s body starts to multiply them and builds up a new immune system. So, how will the new immune system will be better than the one the person previously had? Well, the new immune system cells that will be produced are somewhat “naïve” meaning they don’t see the myelin as a disease or as an invader, so they don’t attack it anymore.  This means that the attack on myelin is stopped, and this allows the body to produce more myelin and recover from the damage produced by any early-stage multiple sclerosis.

This can be the only “catch” of the stem cell therapy. The fact that is has been tested on  a small group of patients with early stage relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. The tests on people with later stages of MS were not successful. However, the study showed incredible recovery in patients. 17 of them improved with one point on the disability scale, and none got any worse.

It’s needless to say, that this is one of the first steps in finding a permanent cure for multiple sclerosis patients in early stages of the disease. Because of the success with the first trial, there are several others done now, and hopefully, the results will encouraging and clear, putting an end to the scientist’s struggle into finding a cure for multiple sclerosis.

No matter what will be the results of the next trials, it’s sure that people suffering from relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis have a stronger chance than ever being cured of this illness and regaining a normal life.