Question explored with the scientific record
Conversation so far
- 1 Stem Cell procedure using your own stem cells to help heal nerves and myelin sheath from damage of MS Where is this procedure done in Australia
- 2 Which Australian centers are running registered aHSCT MS trials?
Answered on this page ↓
Which Australian centers are running registered aHSCT MS trials?
The short version: I cannot name an Australian aHSCT trial center from these records. None of them names a site, and that is a fact about this retrieval, not about Australia.
You are asking a location question, and location is the one thing this evidence set does not carry. The records show what aHSCT does and how it is delivered, not where in Australia it is delivered [1][2][3]. One guidance piece for neurologists sets the standard a center should meet: JACIE accreditation, MS experience, and reported outcomes to a transplant registry [2]. That gives you a checklist for vetting any Australian site, but not a site name.
On what the procedure itself is worth: the largest evidence in these records is a pooled MS analysis of 764 patients, with about 68 in 100 free of disease activity at five years, and treatment-related death falling from about 5 in 100 overall to under 1 in 100 for regimens used after 2005 [1]. One comparison against alemtuzumab found aHSCT held disease control in 62 in 100 versus 40 in 100, though disability progression was similar in both groups [4]. That is real benefit in highly active MS, not nerve repair, and the evidence is largely observational, not randomized.
| Outcome | aHSCT figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Disease-activity-free at 5 years | 68% | [1] |
| Disability progression at 5 years | 23.3% | [1] |
| Treatment-related death, all regimens | 5.3% | [1] |
| Treatment-related death, post-2005 regimens | 0.3% | [1] |
| Low-intensity regimen death | 0% | [1] |
For finding a legitimate center, the only reliable route is the trial registry itself: search for registered Australian aHSCT trials in MS and check each site for JACIE accreditation [2]. A clinic selling "stem cell nerve repair" without a trial number and published outcomes is not the same product.
My call: I cannot name an Australian center from this evidence; use the registry and the accreditation checklist [2], and treat the benefit as real for highly active MS [1][4] rather than as nerve repair. Confidence: low on specific Australian sites.
Sources used 4
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Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for MS
This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) for multiple sclerosis (MS), suggesting it may be safer and as effective as current disease-modifying drugs.
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003995 -
Advising patients seeking stem cell interventions for multiple sclerosis
An expert guidance piece for neurologists on advising MS patients about stem cell interventions, arguing that autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation should only occur within properly regulated clinical studies and that unregulated stem cell 'tourism' poses considerab…
DOI: 10.1136/practneurol-2018-001956 -
Progress and prospects for the use and the understanding of the mode of action of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of multiple sclerosis
An expert commentary reviewing the progress, mechanisms, regimens, and clinical implications of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) for multiple sclerosis, highlighting potential suppression of CNS inflammation and possible disability reversal alongside th…
DOI: 10.1080/1744666X.2017.1297232 -
aHSCT is superior to alemtuzumab in maintaining NEDA and improving cognition in multiple sclerosis
In a single-center registry cohort, aHSCT was associated with higher NEDA maintenance and more EDSS and cognitive improvement than alemtuzumab in highly active MS.
DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51366