Clinical outcome of 50 progressive multiple sclerosis patients treated with cellular therapy in iraq

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease characterized by multifocal areas of demyelination in the brain and spinal cord, with associated inflammatory cell infiltrates, reactive gliosis, and axonal degeneration. It typically presents in young adults with episodic neurologic dysfunction, our aim is to find new simple method to treat multiple sclerosis by hematopoietic stem cells derived from peripheral blood.

50 patients suffering from multiple sclerosis worsening despite pharmacological treatment were treated by means of several intrathecal injections of peripheral blood cells harvested by aphaeresis after G-CSF(granulocyte colony stimulating factor) treatment. 24 patients (48% ) had a reduction of EDSS score. 8 patients had a relapse, but it was milder than usual and more easily controlled by cortisone.

Since mesenchymal cells increase in the peripheral blood after G-CSF stimulation, a peripheral blood harvest seems easier and cheaper than mesenchymal cells cultivation prior to the injection. It seems a reasonable treatment for progressive multiple sclerosis.