For discovery A landmark discovery in the medical community has been claimed by American scientists who have managed to reverse the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (multiple sclerosis) patients by transplanting immune cells that fight "glandular fever" (or infectious mononucleosis).
As reported by the "Daily Mail" and "Independent", in 24 multiple sclerosis patients, doctors implanted cells that target the virus that can cause "glandular fever", which in turn can lead to the onset of the disease.
About 20 patients saw an improvement in their health after a year, the researchers found. Treatment with "T-cells" the part of our immune system that protects us from serious diseases was developed by San Francisco-based Atara Biotherapeutics.
Immune cells against "glandular fever" may be the key to curing multiple sclerosis, scientists claim, the Daily Mail comments. Brain scans showed that the progression of the condition was slowed or even reversed in some patients.
The US scientists who carried out the research stressed, however, that their study was carried out on a small sample and so there should be cautious optimism. They also stressed that this method could significantly help experts' understanding of the disease, which, at present, is incurable and can only be treated with drugs.
Scientists are still not entirely sure about what causes multiple sclerosis, which affects around 130,000 people in the UK and 900,000 in the U.S.
However, as the Daily Mail reports, there is still a "way to go" before those concerned can get excited about a potential cure. The Phase I trial was not tested against a variable control, with researchers admitting that the results could be caused by the placebo effect.
[/P][BR][BR]Clare Walton, head of research at the Multiple Sclerosis Society UK, told New Scientist: 'It's encouraging that they have seen improvements in MTR. But we've seen treatments that look promising in phase I or even phase II, but then when we do the big randomised trials, they don't show any effect."
Source: Proto Thema
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