This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Hello All,
Im 30 years old male from India having rrms since the past five years,I would like to go for stem cell therapy in India.Can anyone recommend a good Doctor,also any references of patients who could share their experience.Did any of the ms patients noticed any symptom improvements after taking the stem cell treatment.
Thank you .

Hi Munish,

There are two fundamentally different approaches to stem cell medical treatments. One is stem cell "infusion," and the other is stem cell "transplantation."

There has yet been absolutely no scientifically reproducble benefit shown for stem cell infusions. So it is unlikely you will find an infusion therapy that will have a long-term beneficial effect on your MS. At best it's probably just a complete waste of money. At worst, injecting foreign stem cells (such as embryonic stem cells) into your body is possibly dangerous, maybe even causing cancer. It's currently extremely experimental and nothing is yet shown to work in a scientific way.

However, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT using your own stem cells) is a well-developed legitimate medical treatment for MS (and other hematologically-rooted autoimmune diseases) that has excellent repeatably-demonstrated curative benefit for MS patients. Especially for RRMS patients such as yourself are very likely to experience good-to-excellent benefit from this treatment. You can read about HSCT for MS here:

http://themscure.blogspot.com/2010/06/s ... rence.html

Onto your question. . . . I am aware of Dr. Amit Rauthan in Bangalore that will perform HSCT for MS patients. (I think you could negotiate a price discount because you are in India.) You can read about Dr. Rauthan's contact info on this page:

http://themscure.blogspot.com/2011/06/g ... -have.html

George,

that was the first time i had read that portion of your blog. that is very informative and everyone should give it a read.

thanks for everything you do here and i wish you a continued recovery!

HI George my name is seeva from sydney australia. i have send a letter to DR.AMIT RAUTHAN but he cannot fit me in his HSCTprogram because i am 63years old. is any age limit for the HSCT stemcell treatment
regards
seeva :roll:

Hi george,
Appreciate your quick and informative reply.I have spoken to dr amit,he will respond after studying my case.I have sent him my reports.Is it possible to get any refrences? Wish you a speedy recovery.
Thanking You

Hi Munish,

I'm guessing by "reference" you mean someone else that has experience with the HSCT treatment with Dr. Rauthan at Manipal. Here's what I have written on the blog that may be helpful in this respect. . . . .

Regards,

George

I have not personally (yet) met Dr. Rauthan, and have also not been to India myself (although I’m sure I’ll visit there someday). The credit for finding Manipal and Dr. Rathan to perform HSCT for an MS patient goes entirely to Richard Syrop, here in the Unted States. Richard’s wonderful wife, Bunti, was diagnosed with PPMS with a continuously-worsening disability status over time.

Based upon Richard's excellent understanding of the curative probabilities of HSCT for MS, Richard and Bunti decided to go with the (good) likelyhood that her underlying MS disease will be stopped via HSCT. In addition, they both hold realistic hopes for the definite 'possibility' that over time (following HSCT) she might be able to experience a measurable degree of meaningful improvement of her existing MS symptomatic disability status (EDSS approximately 6.0 at time of transplantation).

Richard and I had a chance to frequently communicate before, during and after Bunti’s HSCT procedure at Manipal. I’m not a doctor, but from having gone through myeloablative (BEAM) HSCT for my own MS and having researched the medical treatment aspects rather thoroughly, it sounded to me that Dr. Rauthan did a superb job of managing Bunti’s treatment regimen and recovery. I didn’t hear of a single medical misstep by Dr. Rathan relative to Bunti’s treatment experience. Although HSCT is normally a tough procedure for anyone to go through, Bunti completed the procedure without any life-threatening complications and is now recovering well following the completion of her transplantation procedure. (My hat's off to Dr. Rauthan!) I’m looking forward to the day some number of months later when Richard & Bunti will likely report her MS disease as halted, and hopefully reversed, as well. They have my sincerest best wishes, especially following the decision to tackle MS head on. Kudos to both of you!


Here is some basic information regarding Manipal and Dr. Rauthan:

Manipal Hospital, Bangalore

http://www.manipalhospitals.com/


Dr. Amit Rauthan (BMT-experienced in the United States)

http://www.dheerajbojwani.com/bone-marr ... india.html


University of Minnesota BMT program opens in Bangalore, India

http://www.cancer.umn.edu/news/releases ... nipal.html


I have traded a few e-mails with Dr. Rauthan and he let me know that they have set up a formal acceptance procedure for MS patients seeking HSCT at Manipal. They have additionally formed a patient review committee (a common practice at many hospitals) to review applicant cases for treatment approval. HSCT being such a serious and complex procedure they want to make sure that the treated-patient is not going to be put at excessive risk while simultaneously attempting to maximize the curative benefit of the treatment. You can send a treatment request to the following Manipal e-mail address (I’m sure at some point they will ask for some personal medical info and/or medical records that you should gather together) and then they will make an acceptance decision within 2-3 weeks timeframe following review. Please specifically reference that you are interested in BEAM HSCT for treatment of your MS with Dr. Amit Rauthan in Bangalore:

mipc@manipalhospitals.com


Also, Richard Syrop has graciously said that he would be happy to share information about their experience at Manipal for any MS patients that are serious in seeking treatment at Manipal and would like to learn more about specific experience details. Please be considerate of Richard’s time. He has a day job and family duties that he must attend-to and think he would appreciate not answering overly-lengthy e-mails and questions. Keep it basic & simple and I think you might be able to get the info you need from Richard. Thank you Richard! Here is his e-mail address:

richardsyrop@hotmail.com

Thanx again George ,I shall mail Richard.

Hi Munish,
Have you had that therapy? I am from Bangalore and have RRMS..

Hi Kunal. . . As of today (July 10, 2012) Dr. Rauthan at Manipal has completed HSCT treatment for three MS patients (all from the US) and is currently treating one MS'er (from Canada). I beleive he has more patients scheduled for pending HSCT treatment. The more I learn about Dr. Amit Rathan, the more I respect him. From my vantage point and everything I have so far heard from his patients, I really have a lot of respect for him. Seems like a very good doctor and good at performing HSCT. And BTW. . . . HSCT works best on RRMS cases. So if you decide to do it you have very good probability of good benefit. Regards, George

Thanks george for the info....Want to take the therapy but I am wondering abt the cost factor....and yes I went through your post....but still wondering if the cost could be lesser...this is a very expensive disease ;0

I can completely understand the cost factor being a tall hurdle, as it is for most people. Probably the biggest obstacle for people seeking HSCT for their MS. It's so expensive because it is a serious and complex procedure that requires constant medical monitoring (for patient safety) for several weeks while the patient is hospitalized.

The two least expensive facilities I am aware of are $40,000 for the entire treatment (both Manipal, Bangalore and Maximov, Moscow). The same treatment in the united states runs several hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars. Ouch!

A list of the facilities. . . . .

http://themscure.blogspot.com/2011/06/g ... -have.html

Did anyone have HSCT transplant that worked? I have ms & am thinking of having the treatment but I do not want to pay that amount for nothing.
Mary

Hi Mary,
HSCT worked for many. I would recommend to talk to Prof. Slavin. He is a great expert of stem cell treatments and other options. Each case is different, but based on your medical records he will give you the best option. Check CTCI's website for his contact details.

Check out CCSVI Clinic http://www.ccsviclinic.ca/?page_id=564

Any one who has taken the therapy from India.worried about the acceptance of therapy.
Me at RRMS stage with 5 years post activity...