(SCIENCE ALERT) – Over 2 million people globally have multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects the nervous system and can lead to problems moving, seeing and thinking.
While there are treatments that can help reduce the number and severity of MS attacks, many people with MS eventually develop a more severe form of the disease called secondary progressive MS. Unfortunately, there are few treatments for secondary progressive MS. And there are no drugs approved for the most advanced forms of disease.
Recent data has raised expectations that using stem cells, the body’s “master cells”, might help diminish this damage. This involves transplanting brain stem cells, which can develop into almost any other type of brain cell and possibly repair those damaged by MS.
