Q: My 30-year-old daughter has multiple sclerosis. She is still able to work and walk without assistance, but I worry about the future. I have heard that stem cell research may be able to provide a cure for MS.
A: Stem cells are immature cells developed from either embryonic cells gathered from fetuses or umbilical blood, or adult cells from a person’s own bone marrow. They can be made to turn into just about any type of cell in the human body. In multiple sclerosis, there is damage to the central nervous system as nerve fibres gradually lose their insulating covering known as myelin sheaths. Stem cells can become nerve cells or myelin cells and so theoretically could be used in the treatment of MS.
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The only reputable treatment using stem cells involves blood disorders such as leukemia, but research is being carried out for the treatment of other diseases. Scientists in Holland were working on the use of stem cells in treating central nervous system disorders, but this has stalled due to lack of funds and ethical problems regarding the use of aborted fetuses.
It will be a few years before stem cell therapy is available to the public, but it might be possible for your daughter to enroll in a clinical trial.
Find out if trials are going on at a university in your province. You could also contact the Canadian Institutes of Health Research at www.cihr-irsc-gc.ca.
Don’t forget that even if your daughter is accepted into such as research project, she might be allocated to a control group that receives the placebo and not the real medication.
Strokes are one of the major causes of brain damage, leaving two-thirds of victims with some permanent disability. Dr Keith Muir of the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland, is leading trial that involves injecting stem cells into the damaged parts of the brains of stroke patients. The study will begin in a few months.
A company called Reneuron is supplying the fetal stem cells. It also attempted to start clinical trials in the United States two years ago but was blocked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to safety and ethical concerns.
The company has now been able to satisfy the requirements of the British drug regulatory body.
Clare Rowson is a retired medical doctor living near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor regarding questions and treatments.
