Hope on the Horizon: Early Promise for Stem Cell Therapy in Managing Multiple Sclerosis

A recent study demonstrates that patients with multiple sclerosis who have stem cells injected into their brains may be shielded from additional damage caused by the degenerative condition.

Myelin, the protective sheath that surrounds nerve fibers, is attacked and damaged by the body’s immune system, which results in MS. This interferes with signals traveling through the spinal cord and brain.

Researchers found that during a year-long follow-up period, MS patients who received a fetal stem cell injection into their brains did not exhibit any worsening of symptoms or increase in disability, as reported in the journal Cell Stem Cell on November 28.

“We are cautiously very excited about our findings, which are a step towards developing a cell therapy for treating MS,” co-lead researcher Stephano Pluchino, a professor of regenerative neuroimmunology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, said. “We desperately need to develop new treatments for secondary progressive MS.”

Worldwide, there are more than 2 million MS patients, according to background notes from researchers. In the end, two-thirds go on to enter a crippling secondary phase of the illness, where their disability keeps getting worse.

Still, experts said there is hope in the new study.

“We are cautiously very excited about our findings, which are a step towards developing a cell therapy for treating MS,” co-lead researcher Stephano Pluchino, a professor of regenerative neuroimmunology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, said. “We desperately need to develop new treatments for secondary progressive MS.”

Worldwide, there are more than 2 million MS patients, according to background notes from researchers. In the end, two-thirds go on to enter a crippling secondary phase of the illness, where their disability keeps getting worse.

Still, experts said there is hope in the new study.

A single miscarried fetal donor’s brain stem cells were injected into each patient by the researchers. The study’s Italian collaborators have demonstrated the potential to generate an almost infinite number of these stem cells from a single donor.

No symptoms that would indicate a relapse were reported by any of the patients during the 12-month follow-up period. Furthermore, none of them experienced a notable decline in their cognitive abilities.

Although it is challenging to confirm due to the patients’ high levels of disability, the researchers contend that this indicates a significant stabilization of their disease.

“We acknowledge the limitations of our study—it was a small study, and the immunosuppressant drugs may have had confounding effects, for example—but the fact that our treatment was safe and that its effects persisted throughout the trial’s 12-month duration means that we can move on to the next phase of clinical trials,” Pluchino stated.

Higher doses of stem cells were found to increase levels of fatty acids in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, which the researchers said may be one reason for the protective effects observed in this study.

What are STEM cells, and what do they do?

The body uses stem cells as its basic building blocks, from which all other cells with specialized roles are derived. In the right circumstances, stem cells can divide in the body or in a lab to produce additional cells known as daughter cells.

These daughter cells differentiate into new stem cells or become specialized cells with a more narrowly focused purpose, like bone, brain, heart, muscle, or blood cells. No other bodily cell possesses the innate capacity to differentiate into new cell types.

It is possible to direct stem cells to differentiate into particular cells that can be used by humans to regenerate and repair diseased or damaged tissues.

Individuals suffering from spinal cord injuries, type 1 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, stroke, burns, cancer, and osteoarthritis may find relief through stem cell therapies.

It may be possible to grow stem cells into new tissue for use in regenerative and transplant medicine. The understanding of stem cells and their uses in transplant and regenerative medicine is still being expanded by researchers.

Where do they come from?

Embryonic stem cells. These stem cells are derived from 3–5-day-old embryos. Approximately 150 cells make up a blastocyst, the term for this stage of the embryo.

These are pluripotent stem cells, which can differentiate into any kind of cell in the body or divide again to form more stem cells (ploo-RIP-uh-tunt). Because of their adaptability, embryonic stem cells can be used to treat or replace damaged tissue and organs.

Adult stem cells. Small amounts of these stem cells can be found in most adult tissues, including fat and bone marrow. Adult stem cells are less able to differentiate into different body cells than embryonic stem cells.

The characteristics of embryonic stem cells are transferred to adult cells. Through genetic reprogramming, scientists have successfully converted common adult cells into stem cells. Researchers can reprogrammed adult cells to behave like embryonic stem cells by changing their genes.

This novel approach might make it possible to use reprogrammed cells rather than embryonic stem cells and shield the newly created stem cells from the immune system’s rejection. Nevertheless, whether using modified adult cells will have negative effects on humans is still unknown to scientists.

Regular connective tissue cells have been reprogrammed by researchers to function as heart cells. Research has shown that heart failure patients who received heart cell injections had better heart function and longer survival times.