Stem Cells for MS-Like Disease – Consensus Statement

Scientists and those working for the MS societies of the US, UK, Italy, France, Canada, and Australia met in early 2009 to discuss the potential of stem cell treatments for MS and MS-like disease which would include ALS.

The review of current research prompted the joint statement that further research was warranted into the potential for stem cell transplants to influence disease progression. Specifically, intrathecal or intravenous administration of neural stem cells and bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells was found to have been therapeutic in animal models with an MS-like disorder, most notably through immunomodulation but also by inhibiting scar formation and apoptosis. The effects of angiogenesis and the growth of stem cells following the transplants was also noted along with remyelination of neurons in models of the disease.

Caution Over Stem Cells for ALS

Growing stem cells for transplantation, particularly where the transplant will be intrathecal, requires strict hygiene controls to monitor sterility and cell growth. Patients seeking such treatments for ALS, or any condition, at an overseas clinic should be wary of the lack of regulation many such clinics are subject to. With the consensus of scientists being that stem cell treatments may be helpful in remyelinating damaged neurons it is likely that more stem cell clinical trials will be planned for the near future, offering patients a safer alternative to travelling overseas for stem cell therapy. Follow-up care would likely be better, and patients would usually receive the experimental treatments without having to make major financial sacrifices. There have been incidents of tumor growth in patients receiving stem cell treatments at overseas clinics and other complications can also arise such as infection, or nerve or spinal cord damage during a procedure.

Current Clinical Trials

A Phase I clinical trial looking at the use of neural stem cells for children with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease is currently underway. This disease, which only affects male children who inherit a mutated gene on the X chromosome, has the effect of inhibiting myelin production in the child. The boys then develop progressive deficits in language and motor skills and severe cases often result in early death for the child. Success in this trial would offer hope to others with demyelinating diseases such as MS and ALS. It is important to bear in mind however that there is not always crossover between drugs and stem cell treatments developed for one demyelinating condition and another. The demyelination of motor neurons differs from that of sensory neurons due to the presence of Schwann cells in the latter and the lack of such cells in the former. Techniques used to stimulate the Schwann cells would not therefore necessarily help with remyelination of motor neurons, meaning that specific stem cell treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis need further investigation.

Read On: Growing Motor Neurons in the Lab