The first part of the treatment was called ‘mobilisation’. A consultant neurologist assessed me and found that I did fit the strict medical criteria, so I came to Hammersmith Hospital to begin treatment in October 2017. I got in contact with Imperial about whether I could be eligible for this treatment. It can be possible that these healthy stem cells can then produce new cells to replace parts of the immune system, which means that the nerve fibres can start relaying messages between the brain and body again. An autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant involves transplanting some of a patient’s healthy stem cells from their bone marrow into their blood stream. These can either divide into more stem cells or develop into different types of specialised cells, such as immune cells. We all have stem cells in our bone marrow. They are treating small numbers of people who fit a strict medical criteria with autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which uses your own stem cells to repair your immune system and slow the progress of MS. I found out that Imperial was one of several NHS trusts in the UK that were treating some MS patients with stem cell transplants. As soon as I saw it could be possible to regain the use of my legs, I was determined to find out if I could have this treatment too. The treatment helped them to be able to walk again. There is no cure, but there are treatments that can slow down the progress of the disease.Ī couple of years ago, I saw an episode of Panorama where a person with MS, who like me relied on a wheelchair, received a stem cell transplant to treat their condition. It damages the myelin coating of the nerve fibres which carry messages from your brain to your body, stopping those messages getting through and causing symptoms like mine. In the case of MS, the immune system attacks the central nervous system. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease – your body’s immune system attacks your own cells. For the last eight years I’ve been in a wheelchair. The doctors diagnosed it from an MRI and a lumber puncture. When I visited my GP, they said I needed to go to hospital straight away. I started getting pins and needles in my legs and paralysis that came and went. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2003 completely out of the blue. Stem cell transplants are an experimental treatment for sufferers of MS and for those that meet the strict medical criteria can slow the progress of the disease and enable the central nervous system to repair itself. After a decade in a wheelchair a stem cell transplant at Hammersmith Hospital gave him the ability to walk again. “A stem cell transplant let me walk again”
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