An unprecedented British trial of bone marrow stem cell therapy in people with multiple sclerosis has delivered promising results.
The pioneering study explored the safety and practicality of treatment using cells sourced from participants’ own marrow. After a year, clinical measures found that their MS was stable.
The University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust teams also found there were no serious adverse effects to the treatment. Researchers said the procedure was well tolerated.
Participants were given a general anaesthetic before their bone marrow was harvested. Cells were filtered and prepared before being injected back into the patient later the same day.
Study participants were followed up for a year and clinical test results were “consistent with stable disease”.
The initial research was a precursor to a wider study that will examine the effectiveness of bone marrow cellular therapy in treating MS with a larger sample group.
