The Hadassah neurologists, working under the guidance of team leaders Professor Dimitrious Karussis and Prof. Shimon Slavin, the recently retired head of Hadassah's bone marrow unit, extracted stem cells from the hip bone marrow of 26 multiple sclerosis (MS) and amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. After a two-month long process of in vitro cleansing, multiplication and chemical 'tagging', the cells were re-injected into the patients via lumbar puncture.
According to Karussis, the trials were the first in the world to use this type of stem cells. "The sole aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and the safety of this treatment, since it is applied for first time," Karussis told ISRAEL21c.
No adverse effects were noted, and the experiment was deemed a success. Even more encouragingly, patients also displayed anecdotal improvements in clinical symptoms, leading the way for further developments in forthcoming clinical trials.
"Most MS patients reported a stabilization of their condition and some an improvement in function, especially in sphincter control, muscle power in arms, tremor and stability in walking," Karussis said. "ALS patients continued to show signs of deterioration - though at a lesser than previous degree."
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles^l1889&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Technology&
According to Karussis, the trials were the first in the world to use this type of stem cells. "The sole aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and the safety of this treatment, since it is applied for first time," Karussis told ISRAEL21c.
No adverse effects were noted, and the experiment was deemed a success. Even more encouragingly, patients also displayed anecdotal improvements in clinical symptoms, leading the way for further developments in forthcoming clinical trials.
"Most MS patients reported a stabilization of their condition and some an improvement in function, especially in sphincter control, muscle power in arms, tremor and stability in walking," Karussis said. "ALS patients continued to show signs of deterioration - though at a lesser than previous degree."
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles^l1889&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Technology&