MS effects reversed during trial

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Seventeen out of 21 adults with relapsing-remitting MS - the most common form of the condition - saw their health improve thanks to the aggressive treatment, US studies showed.

The MS Society spoke of its "excitement" at the results but said further trials are needed to assess its safety.

Dr Doug Brown, from the society, said: "These are very encouraging results and it is exciting to see that in this trial not only is progression of disability halted, but damage appears to be reversed. Stem cells are showing more and more potential in the treatment of MS and the challenge we now face is proving their effectiveness in trials involving large numbers of people."

Evidence previously showed stem cell treatment could stabilise MS - but has never suggested that it could reverse the condition. Yet the study, led by Richard K Burnt of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, concluded that the treatment was "a feasible procedure that not only seems to prevent neurological progression, but also appears to reverse neurological disability".

The technique - called autologous non-myeloablative haemopoietic stem cell transplantation - suppresses the immune system and replenishes it with new cells that develop from haemopoietic stem cells. It effectively "resets" patients' immune systems, doctors said.

After an average follow-up of three years, 17 (81%) out of 21 sufferers improved by at least one point on a disability scale, Mr Burnt wrote. No patient had a final score on the scale that was lower than their score before transplantation.

In addition to the improvements in neurological function noted during the study, the procedure was "well tolerated", he added.

The scientists, who are continuing to study its effects, publish their initial findings in the March issue of The Lancet Neurology.

MS is the most common disabling neurological condition, affecting around 85,000 people in the UK. The condition is the result of damage to myelin - a protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system.