Neural stem cells offer hope against multiple sclerosis Science and health

Treatment with neural stem cells in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis is considered safe and has shown signs that it can slow the progression of the disease.

This is indicated by an experiment conducted by researchers at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan and published in the journal Nature Medicine.

This is just the first step to testing in humans, but the results offer hope for fighting the disease.

Trying to use stem cells to fight multiple sclerosis is nothing new, but this time scientists used those coming from the nervous system. “This type of cell has already been tested against various diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Huntington’s disease, with the aim of replacing damaged cells,” Gianvito Martino, scientific director of San Raffaele and coordinator of the study told ANSA.

According to him, stem cells are transplanted through a lumbar puncture directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, where they migrate to the area affected by sclerosis and work by secreting neuroprotective molecules.

The phase 1 trial, which began in 2017, involved 12 patients with progressive multiple sclerosis for whom available treatments proved to be little or no effective.

The patients received different doses of the stem cells, and tests conducted two years later showed a reduction in brain tissue loss in those given the higher doses.

The next step will be to check the treatment’s efficacy in a larger study, with about 100 patients. “It will take four or five years until we get new data,” Martino added.