Game-changing miracle? MS treatment not suitable for all patients

Stem cell transplant has been hailed by doctors as a potential “game changer” for treating patients with multiple sclerosis.

Results from an international trial show that stem cell transplant was able to stop the disease and improve symptoms, the BBC reports.

The trial involved wiping out a patient’s immune system using cancer drugs and then rebooting it with a stem cell transplant.

Speaking to the BBC, 36-year-old Louise Willetts from Rotherham was diagnosed with MS in 2010 when she was only 28. However, after receiving the treatment in October 2015, she now claims to be symptom-free.

“It feels like a miracle,” she said. “I feel like my diagnosis was just a bad dream. I live every day as I want to, rather than planning my life around my MS.”

The transplant costs around £30,000 – roughly the same as the annual price of some MS drugs. However, doctors insist it is not a one-size-fits-all solution and isn’t suitable for all MS patients, warning the process can be gruelling involving chemotherapy and a few weeks in isolation in hospital.