After being trapped in a body racked by multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than seven years, a 49-year-old Pennsylvanian woman has had stem cell treatment that has turned her life around.
Wife and mother of one, Brooke Slick had been suffering from severe symptoms, starting with diminished vision in one eye in 2001. Even though doctors picked up “enhancing” lesions in her brain, it wasn’t until 2005 that they diagnosed MS. Additional symptoms included:
- Right foot drop that made her feel as if she had a concrete block or dead bear tied to her foot
- Profound loss of hearing in her right ear
- Loss of strength, feeling and dexterity in her right arm and both hands
- Numb fingers, feet and toes, and numbness around her middle
- Severe though sporadic spasticity in the form of muscle spasm in her rib cage
- Constant lack of balance that resulted in numerous falls at home and in public
Her body was bombarded with numerous therapeutic drugs, but the symptoms continued to worsen. By July 2012 all her options had been exhausted. That was when she began to research possibilities and discovered people all over the world were having stem cell transplants to halt MS.
Brooke took the initiative and was accepted for treatment in Moscow, Russia. It is not yet available in the United States of America because it’s considered “experimental treatment” – and she didn’t qualify for any US trials. Her admission date was April 28, 2013.
Stem Cell Treatment for MS
Hematopoietec stem cell transplant (HSCT) for multiple sclerosis is a highly specialized treatment that is designed to stop the progression of the illness and re-establish the immune system.
Brooke’s own stem cells were collected and frozen in preparation for the treatment that was to be done after intense chemotherapy that would take place over four days. The plan was that the stem cells would be returned to her body intravenously after chemo, to re-establish her immune system that contained the t-cells where the MS was present, and that was deliberately destroyed during the chemotherapy process.
As Brooke explains on her web site, Hello, Russia! B-bye, MS, her “new” immune system would have no “memory” of MS once the old immune system was wiped out.
“MS held me captive long enough. It’s my turn now.”
Explaining to me in a little more detail she said the re-injected stem cells were intended to act as “a rescue team” to help her recover from treatment more quickly.
“The stem cells do not play a hand in halting the MS. The chemo is the true hero in this treatment, because it is what abates the t-cells.”
But of course without her re-injected stem cells her immune system wouldn’t function.
Brooke knows that it will take between 12 and 18 months for the full benefits of treatment to be evident. Still while there is no certainty of the results of a stem cell transplant, generally results do show that the process is successful in halting both the progression and activity of MS. In addition up to 8o percent of patients have reported that 45 to 80 percent of their previous symptoms were reversed.
Results of HSCT for MS
When Brooke left for Russia she knew she had dangerous active lesions in her brain; but what neither she nor her doctors realized was that she had ten of them. So while her treatment went according to plan, back in the US she would need follow-up chemo: four doses every three months through May 2014. So at this time of writing, Brooke is still not certain what degree of success her HSCT will have. However by early November 2013 she wrote:
“I’ve fought the battle and I’ve won the war against MS!”
Having had a brain scan – the first since Moscow – she was relieved to find that all the lesions had decreased in size and only one (the largest of all) was continuing to “enhance” – and only very slightly. From being the size of a dime, it is now the size of a “shriveled pea”, and should, she believes, be destroyed by forthcoming chemo treatments.
In addition to the chemo, Brooke’s having intense physiotherapy several times a week that is helping her use muscles that she wasn’t able to use previously. Core strengthening, she says, has aided her posture and balance, which is helping her walk better, for longer – and without her stick.
Brooke Slick’s Followers
Meanwhile there are people from more than 70 countries who follow Brooke’s blog – many of them hopeful to be able to get the opportunity to have a stem cell transplant. And it is her mission “to tell as many people I can with MS, that there is hope”.
Certainly the more people who are aware of stem cell technology, the more likely it is that treatment will become available in this country.