Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease that has been called “the crippler of young adults", normally affecting people under 45 years-old, impacting each victim a little differently.

Barry Goudy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in May 1995. Over the years the treatment became less effective.

In 2003, Barry was accepted into Dr. Burt's study and received his adult stem cell transplant in July. After 4 months he was able to get back to work symptom free. In 2008, he will celebrate five years of being free of multiple sclerosis symptoms. "I look forward to continuing to live an active, productive MS-free lifestyle that includes my work as well as playing racquetball, golf and coaching hockey," affirms Barry.[1]

In February 2008, Dr. Burt authored a review of previously published reports of clinical applications using adult stem cells in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), a highly cited weekly medical journal. After examination of more than 300 reports involving thousands of patients, Dr. Burt and his team validated that "[s]tem cells harvested from blood or marrow... under appropriate conditions in select patients, provide disease-ameliorating effects in some autoimmune diseases and cardiovascular disorders."[2]

In patients with multiple sclerosis, immunosuppressive therapy followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation elicited high response rates and improved quality of life for up to 6 years. The results of the study were presented at the 18th Meeting of the European Neurological Society in Nice , France.  Tatiana Ionova, MD, PhD, of the Department of Hematology, Pirogov National Medical Surgical Center in Moscow , Russia reported that during the last decade 56 patients with all types of multiple sclerosis (primary progressive, secondary progressive, progressive relapsing, relapsing remitting) were studied. Out of the 26 patients included in the quality-of-life analysis, 24 exhibited a response and preserved a good quality of life during the follow-up. No unexpected treatment-related adverse events were observed. According to Dr. Ionova, immunosuppressive therapy plus autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation appears to be a safe and effective therapy for multiple sclerosis.[3]

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[1]Barry Goudy gave a testimony on Capitol Hill briefing in Washington DC on March 13, 2008. The transcript can be found at http://stemcellresearch.org/testimony/20080313_goudy.html  ( April 17, 2008 ); for more information see LoBue, Leslie, "Researchers expand scope of adult stem cell therapy," abc12.com, 26 February 2008. Accessed at: http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/health&id=5982455  ( 17 April 2008 ) and Boyles, Salynn, "Adult Stem Cells May Treat Many Diseases," WebMD, 26 February 2008. Accessed at:http://www.webmd.com/news/20080226/adult-stem-cell-therapy-shows-promise  ( 17 April 2008 ).

[2]  Burt, Richard K.; Loh, Yvonne; Pearce, William; Beohar, Nirat; Barr, Walter G.; Craig, Robert; Wen, Yanting; Rapp, Jonathan A.; Kessler, John, "Clinical Applications of Blood-Derived and Marrow-Derived Stem Cells for Nonmalignant Diseases," JAMA, 2008;299(8):925-936.

[3] Moser, Judith, "Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation after Immunosuppressive Therapy Effective and Safe in Multiple Sclerosis: Presented at ENS ," June 11, 2008. Accessed at: http://main.pslgroup.com/news/content.nsf/medicalnews/852571020057 CCF 685257466000D0793?OpenDocument&id=&count=10

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