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Holly Drewry, wheelchair bound since the birth of her now two year old daughter, can walk again. Photo: BBC
January 21, 2016
Professors and patients alike are describing it as “miraculous”: a pioneering new stem cell treatment that reverses and then halts the crippling effects of multiple sclerosis.
Wheelchair-bound patients involved in the trial are walking again, the disease apparently stopped in its tracks.
The treatment, which uses a high dose of chemotherapy to knock out the immune system, after which doctors rebuild it with adult stem cells taken from the patient’s own blood, is being carried out at Kings College Hospital, London, and at Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield. The treatment is said to “reboot” the immune system. It is the first ever to reverse the symptoms of MS, which affects 100,000 people in Britain, 400,000 in the U.S., and over 2.5 million worldwide. 200 new cases are diagnosed each week in the U.S. alone.
“I started seeing changes within days of the stem cells being put in,” patient Holly Drewry told The Telegraph. “It was a miracle.”
Drewry, a 25 year old Englishwoman from Sheffield, has been wheelchair bound since the birth of her daughter two years ago. “I walked out of the hospital…I cried and cried.”
Drewry’s condition has been reviewed and has been found to have been halted. Though she’ll need monitoring for years, doctors hope her fix is permanent. And she is far from the only case. One former marathon runner, stricken with MS, was completely paralyzed. Within ten months of the treatment, he was not only walking again, but had completed a mile-long swim.
It is unknown what causes MS, but some doctors believe that in patients with the condition the immune system itself actually attacks the brain and spinal cord, causing the characteristic inflammation, pain, disability and even death.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Sheffield Professor Basil Sharrack said “Since we started treating patients three years ago, some of the results we have seen have been miraculous. This is not a word I use lightly, but we have seen profound neurological improvements.”
Patients in the trial first have their own stem cells harvested and stored. Doctors then use chemotherapy agents to completely destroy their immune system. The stem cells are then injected back into the patient. Doctors say they begin to grow new red and white blood cells within two weeks, and within a month, the immune system is fully restored.
Shortly after, the patients begin to recover from the symptoms of their MS.
The research has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
So Happy New Year! And may it be one for literally millions among us without hope.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
