Australians demand HSCT for MS

Aussie MS patients are justifiably angry. Their misinformed MS Society has helped shut down HSCT in that country. The society refuses to acknowledge that the procedure can be used to help patients recover from the intense level of chemotherapy needed stop aggressive MS in its tracks, as it did for me.

What's troubling is that the same shutdown might happen here in the US if our own MS Society decides to push in that unfortunate direction. I'm resistant to entertaining conspiracy theories, but it is difficult to fully dismiss the idea that money from MS drug companies might have undue influence on the talking points and policies of national MS Societies.  When I go to www.nationalmssociety.org, an onsite search for "hsct" or "hematopoietic" turns up scant information. This seems very wrong on a website with a homepage that leads with "A World Free of MS" and "Research for a Cure."  At the moment, the US National MS Society's policy toward HSCT seems to be one of benign neglect. Too bad, considering chemo and HSCT is the closest thing we have to a proven MS cure.

In this video, the Australian doctor's comments mirror what Dr. Burt at Northwestern says.  HSCT is a proven procedure, not an experiment. And there is no moral dilemma, since the stem cells come from each patient's own body.

The video also includes an explanation of the procedure, and some interviews with patients who have done it by traveling overseas.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/sa/video/watch/21715059/stem-cell-therapy-push/