This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Dignan,

Could you, or maybe someone else, briefly explain the difference between autologous hematopoietic stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells?

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant refers to when the patient is the stem cell donor for the transplant. So, if the stem cells are taken from my own body and then put back during transplantation, that would be autologous. An allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant refers to when the stem cells are harvested from a donor.

I know that doesn't exactly answer the entire question, but hopefully it helps a little.

I'm not completely clear on all the proper language, but I will say this - Dr. Slavin works with mesenchymal stem cells taken from the patient's own bone marrow and then cultured.

patientx, I'm no expert, so I'll defer to Wikipedia:

Thanks, all. I got the autologous part, but I don't understand what hematopoietic or mesenchymal stem cells are. Dignan's post helped clear it up some, but now I guess I need to look up what "stromal" means.

stroma / noun - tissue which supports an organ, as opposed to the parenchyma or functioning tissues in the organ.

I am so sorry. I hope I didn't offend anyone, I think you guys are great and I learn something everyday on here. I used the wrong wording. I did have success for a while but I had a huge attitude of faith, positive thinking etc. That makes everything better no matter what the treatment is. So I would say to stay positive and dont ever give up. Stem cells are something I will be getting every 4 months because it gives me such a boost. It goes where it needs to go to repair. The Rebif slows the progression of MS. So I am attacking it that way. Yes there were some things that disappointed me but I had to stop and think last week that I can not right all the wrongs in the world. I get wrapped up in wanting to save everybody and get all out of order. I just hate to see people hurting.

Are you traveling to another country every four months or having this done in the states? (assuming you are in the u.s. sorry if this is not the case.) I've never read about anyone doing stems so quickly. How many treatments have you had?