Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant represents “a useful treatment option” for patients with relapsing MS who experience breakthrough disease activity despite disease-modifying therapy, according to the National MS Society.
The National MS Society stated that autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (AHSCT) is also efficacious for patients with relapsing MS and breakthrough disease activity who have contraindications to “high-efficacy” disease-modifying therapy (DMT). Researchers published the recommendations on AHSCT for relapsing MS in JAMA Neurology, where they outlined specific criteria that make patients with relapsing MS “the best candidates” for this treatment.
“Prior research suggests a long-lasting benefit of AHSCT in relapsing MS, but studies are mostly uncontrolled and small,” Aaron Miller, MD, medical director of the Corrine Goldsmith Dickinson Center for MS and professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, told Healio Neurology. “There have been several studies published in the last few years and patients increasingly inquire about stem cell therapies. However, they are often confused about the difference between stem cell therapies. AHSCT primarily works through the process of immunoablation.”
To evaluate the use of AHSCT in MS, Miller and other members of the National Medical Advisory Committee of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society examined recent literature on the topic to make recommendations about its use. They explored which patients with MS make the best candidates for AHSCT, the optimal treatment locations for this procedure and the protocols for AHSCT in patients with MS, as well as the treatment course and follow-up for the procedure.
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