Israeli Study Reveals Stem Cells Could Aid Multiple Sclerosis Brain in Repairing Itself
Just recently, a team from the State of Israel conducted a study into stem cell therapy to try and make it possible for a brain with multiple sclerosis to repair itself. A small clinical trial was carried out to prove the results of the theory, where several patients displayed hopeful biological transformations, as well as reduced disability. NeuroGeneisis, a biopharmaceutical company which is currently in its clinical stage, carried out tests with several of its customized NG-01 therapy on the participants of the trial. It went on to administer these tests in two distinct ways. The first was an intravenous injection, which showed substantial effects.
However, the doctors at the trial made several observations, the most important of which was that these positive changes were occurring in particular patients. All of these patients had been given an injection right into their spinal cord fluid. In addition, from the 15 patients who were given spinal injections, nine of them consequently showed a drop in neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels. This is a protein which is present in high levels in patients of MS, as their disability progresses. A control group, comprising of 15 participants, was given placebo injections. Out of those, only one patient displayed the drop in their NfL levels.
Furthermore, the nine patients who had been given therapy by way of a spinal injection and had shown reduced NfL levels, only one showed improved scores of disability. By the end of the 12 months, when the study came to an end, this number did not change. After the results were ascertained, the study was peer-reviewed and then published in a well-known journal, namely Stem Cells Translational Medicine. NfL has been deemed to be an indicator of progression of MS. Thus, it is widely known to be the biomarker of the brain disease. The CEO of NeuroGenesis, Tal Gilat, revealed that a decline in the biomarker after conducting the therapy is an important result.
He went on to talk about how the team at NeuroGenesis believes that this treatment holds promise and can help in improving the lives of patients currently experiencing MS. According to him, the therapy will eventually bring about a cure for this distressing disease. Gilat further added how, for the first time, a study has shown that cell therapy can achieve a considerable reduction in the neurodegenerative biomarker in people who suffer from multiple sclerosis. In the words of the CEO, the success of the therapy stands to reason that it could help with various other neurodegenerative diseases and not just be limited to MS.
The technology owned by NeuroGenesis was originally developed at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. It entails the collection of bone marrow from whichever patient is suffering from multiple sclerosis. Afterwards, the particular stem cells are gathered from the bone marrow and then enhanced to promote the repair of damaged neurons. Next, these cells are injected once again into the central nervous system of the patient, which is where the regeneration process begins.
