Stem Cell Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis
Medicine advances continuously, and progress is made every day. Chronic conditions treated only with pain medication or surgery (if possible) have now better and far more durable treatment alternatives.
Conditions of the immune system affect millions of people worldwide. When scientists discovered stem cells some years ago, the possibilities for treatment suddenly became endless, and research is ongoing. People with auto-immune conditions, arthritis, or joint conditions have now hope for a better life. Stem cell therapy for MS is not only improving the experience of patients but leads to long-lasting results, with far fewer complications than previous treatments. Keep reading for the details.
How can stem cell therapy for MS change the patients’ lives?
MS (multiple sclerosis) is defined as an auto-immune condition. With this disease, your immune system will attack the central nervous system, affecting the nerve fibers. As a consequence, the brain will have difficulties communicating with the rest of your body. Tingling/numbness in the limbs, chronic pain, problems in speaking, vision loss, weakness, and depression are some of the most common symptoms for MS.
Typically, medications are used for patients struggling with MS or immune system conditions, but they lead to unpleasant and acute side effects in time. Also, more often than not, their effect ends up being utterly useless.
Stem cell multiple sclerosis treatment is a reliable alternative for patients who haven’t used medications and for patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). People dealing with RRMS may not have symptoms for some time or only experience mild symptoms every now and then. However, the severe symptoms will reappear, so RRMS becomes a natural form of MS, with signs becoming permanent.
Currently, there is no healing therapy for MS, but stem cell treatments for MS present positive effects, improving the life of patients struggling with multiple sclerosis. Stem cell therapy gives results that last for a longer amount of time, changing the lives of patients for the better.
Does stem cell therapy give results for MS?
A good number of clinical trials highlighted that mesenchymal stem cells reduce neural damage in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The autoantibodies will aim the self-myelin antigens in patients with MS. Neurological disabilities make the most prominent symptoms for people with multiple sclerosis MS. The clinical trials suggest that therapies capable of controlling the way the immune system responds are the key to better lives for MS patients.
Mesenchymal cells are stable and have self-renewal abilities. They also impress with the immunomodulatory and neuro-regenerative capacities. It means that they may guide the immune system’s responses while helping with the regeneration of neurons.
As such, a new method, how the mesenchymal stem cells work for people with multiple sclerosis, is still unclear. After the stem cell therapy, mesenchymal stem cells will travel into the brain affected areas, increasing the survival rate for the brain cells. The clinical trials also revealed that the injection of mesenchymal stem cells would reduce the severity of multiple sclerosis MS, which translates into a better quality of life.
How is treatment developing?
Peripheral blood, bone marrow tissues, umbilical cord blood, adipose tissues, and even the placenta are the sources from which stem cells are collected. The mesenchymal stem cells’ qualities and strength differ, with the cells from the umbilical cord blood being the most effective ones.
The mesenchymal stem cells from the umbilical cord don’t pose ethical dilemmas like other types of stem cells. The human fetal-derived neural stem cells (HNSCS) are also very efficient for procedure as they are the precursors of neuronal cells. These cells are collected from human fetal donors from involuntary miscarriages. There are ethical issues related to the collection, so they’re quite challenging to use.
The procedure with mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow improves the cognitive functions, reduces the severity of sclerosis, and helps people with MS live a better life. The anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective abilities of these cells make a difference for people with multiple sclerosis.
Clinical trials have also revealed that MS stem cell treatment with mesenchymal stem cells from the adipose tissue isn’t just safe, but also reduces the disabilities of MS patients. For people with multiple sclerosis, stem cells from adipose tissues seem to be the most reliable and effective option. It’s because the adipose tissue is easy to work with, generating a high amount of cells. Moreover, the costs for the extraction of the mesenchymal stem cells are lower too.
Recent studies also showed that hematopoietic transplantation might stop multiple sclerosis for four to five years in almost 80% of multiple sclerosis patients.
What’s the best way to define the stem cell transplant for MS?
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation refers to inserting stem cells from donors, as it was initially used for patients with different kinds of cancer. At the moment, HSCT for MS patients is slowly winning popularity.
Stem cells have the unique and amazing ability to become all sorts of cells in the body. Hematopoietic stem cells are the blood cells, and they’re essential for the hematopoietic stem transplantation (HSCT) for patients with RRMS.
Many reputed clinics worldwide are utilizing HSCT for auto-immune conditions, with multiple sclerosis as the most common to name. Even if the procedure is still experimental, the HSCT has an amazingly high rate of success.
The HSCT may not give results for all people with multiple sclerosis, but that’s a common fact for all conditions. There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all treatment, and professionals understood that customized treatment is the key to recovery.
For instance, at Holistic Sanctuary, the professionals will assess every patient’s situation, check the medical history, and make a clear picture of their case. They will later decide on a customized treatment according to the patient’s particularities, values, and even personal beliefs.
How much money will one pay for stem cell therapy?
Stem cell therapy isn’t a conventional method; that’s for sure. Professionals involved in collecting, developing, and even transportation of the stem cells are highly specialized, explaining the higher prices for stem cell treatments.
A simple injection may cost $1,000, but complicated MS stem treatment will get even over $50,000. Several aspects are affecting the final price of the procedure, especially if you choose a reputed clinic.
For example, at Holistic Sanctuary, stem cell therapy is helped by a significant number of treatments for best results. The body is first prepared for receiving the stem cells, and this step includes natural detox with natural substances and methods. All chemicals, toxic residues, or medications must be removed from the system so that the stem cells develop correctly later on.
Five different and proprietary IV vitamin drips will also be given to the patient, as the immune system needs specific nutrients, vitamins, and minerals for sustaining stem cell growth. Patients switch to plant-based, raw, organic, and non-GMO dieting too.
As stem cell therapy is part of a comprehensive and complete treatment for MS patients at The Holistic Sanctuary, alternative therapies are used for boosting the stem cells. Floatation method, HBOT, acupuncture, physical activities at the gym are some of the treatments that will push the stem cell functioning.
As you can see, the procedure means a lot more than a couple of injections with mesenchymal stem cells, especially for patients with multiple sclerosis who need complex treatment. It makes perfect sense that every element of the treatment plan will add to the final costs. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not worth it.
Is stem cell treatment for MS covered by insurance?
The novelty of procedure and the long-time existence of big-pharma are some of the causes for which insurance will still not cover many of the stem cell procedures.
If the FDA doesn’t approve the procedure, the chances for one to get reimbursed for the stem cell therapy for MS are quite slim. Regardless, there are stem cell procedures for specific conditions where blood is collected from the umbilical cords and are already approved by the FDA.
Patients should still check with their insurance company and ask for preapproval of insurance coverage.
MS patients may have to travel abroad for the procedure that is approved in many foreign countries. Like with every other treatment, the risks are never null, but patients struggling with MS for decades know that it’s worth taking the leap of faith, especially when the results are so impressive!
What should MS patients do?
HSCT MS is the most fantastic procedure so far, and the outcomes are surpassing the results obtained with other therapies for MS. At Holistic Sanctuary, the treatment is comprehensive and personalized, as it’s the patient with multiple sclerosis being treated and not the disease. Give us a call to see how stem cell therapy will be used for your long-time recovery.