MS - NEW treatment, First Canadian woman...
Written by Julie Taylor
A Calgary woman with multiple sclerosis will be the first person in Canada to receive a new therapy meant to "reboot" her immune system with stem cells harvested from her body, newspapers said on July 30th 2009.
And Colleen Sladek says she can hardly wait. She suffers from constant dizziness and movement problems and the condition means she is unable to do such everyday activities as going for a walk.
"I can't do a lot of things with the kids," she said. "That drives me nuts."
Earlier this month, doctors gave her a blast of chemotherapy, after which she was injected with human growth hormone to stimulate the production of stem cells. Some of those cells were later removed.
In August, she returns to hospital for a second round of chemo that aims to debilitate 95% of her body's immune system. Recent research into MS points to the disease being an auto-immune disease.
She will then be injected with her own stem cells, which could rebuild the immune system, an effect that could last as long as five years.
A Chicago researcher has successfully tested the treatment on 21 patients, 80% of whom had their symptoms disappear.
"We want to knock out most of what's there and let it reconstitute in a normal fashion," said Dr. Luanne Metzi with the Calgary Multiple Sclerosis Centre.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). There are a couple of good books on the 
market - to learn as much as possible about MS is almost certainly your first priority and this is an excellent book to start with: The First Year: Multiple Sclerosis: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed by Margaret Blackstone and M.D. Saud A. Sadiq.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) usually affects more women than men. The disorder most commonly begins between ages 20 and 40, but can be seen at any age.
The exact cause is not known, but MS is believed to result from damage to the myelin sheath, the protective material which surrounds nerve cells. It is a progressive disease, meaning the nerve damage (neurodegeneration) gets worse over time.
In addition to nerve damage, another part of MS is inflammation. Inflammation occurs when the body's own immune cells attack the 
nervous system. The inflammation destroys the myelin, leaving multiple areas of scar tissue (sclerosis). It also causes nerve impulses to slow down or become blocked, leading to the symptoms of MS. Repeated episodes, or flare ups, of inflammation can occur along any area of the brain and spinal cord. During a flare-up it will probably be difficult to read and this DVD is a really good account of how you can start to live successfully with MS: Living with Multiple Sclerosis (April 5, 2007)
Symptoms vary because the location and extent of each attack varies. Usually episodes that last days, weeks, or months alternate with times of reduced or no symptoms (remission). Acupunture has been found to be very helpful for early stages MS and I think a consultation as early as possible with a medical doctor/acupuncturist is a must. Looking into what has worked for your peers is an absolute must and I found a very useful book that touches on this subject specifically for MS sufferers called Healing Multiple Sclerosis: Diet, Detox & Nutritional Makeover for Total Recovery by Ann Boroch and Ann Louise Gittleman
Recurrence (relapse) is common although non-stop progression without periods of remission may also occur.
There is another great book called Multiple Sclerosis For Dummies by Rosalind Kalb Ph.D., Nancy Holland RN EdD MSCN, Barbara Giesser MD, and David L. Lander As with all such conditions, I can't stress enough that I would love to see balanced lifestyle adjustments, maximum learning, immediate start of a vitamin regime and an exercise program.
