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Some caution on the timescale for stem cell therapies

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:25 am
by bromley
As usual with MS any good news (last week's news about stem cells turning into myelin) has to be balanced with some not so good news. Stem cell therapies are some way off.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/MS ... sage/21106

But there is plenty of research going on outside the States, including research on using ones own stem cells (which I assume should be safer and have less ethical problems). So hopefully things may move at a faster pace.

I'm all for safety, but if new therapies are going to take ten or twenty years then there's a massive number of us who will never benefit. Also, there must be individuals with more severe MS who would quite happily be the guinea pigs for early trials given possible improvements - I would if I was in that situation.

Bromley

Re: Some caution on the timescale for stem cell therapies

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:04 pm
by Melody
bromley wrote:
I'm all for safety, but if new therapies are going to take ten or twenty years then there's a massive number of us who will never benefit. Also, there must be individuals with more severe MS who would quite happily be the guinea pigs for early trials given possible improvements - I would if I was in that situation.

Bromley
If you are not one of the severe now why sell yourself short? What information do you have on the time line that says in 20 years you are out of the running? Positive attitude as well as patience will get you through. You have shown that you are diligent in your search so I won't even mention that factor but you need to be more positive as the rest will stress you out.LOL You are one poster I look to for info so don't give up just yet. :wink:

Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:35 pm
by bromley
Melody,

Thanks for your post. I'm not giving up quite yet, I was just expressing some frustration that whenever some 'good' research news is announced some other researcher has to throw in some downside. This year started off quite positively with Antegren on the market and then promising treatments such as Campath, but as the year nears the end the position looks quite different. But advances in stem cells therapies and major funding by the NMSS gives one hope again.

By 2010 ish I would really hope that some much more effective therapies are on the market - including stem cells. They say that a week is a long time in politics but five years is a bloody long time with MS - and there's some on this site who have had this curse for 30+ years.

Like many with this disease I swing from positive to negative quite quickly. I'm hoping that there will be some positive news from the ACTRIMS / ECTRIMS conference taking place at the moment.

I'm grateful for your dietary information - I've started on the omega 3 and will start Vit D as autumn has arrived.

Bromley