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The A.A. Maximov Hematology and Cell Therapy Department of the National Pirogov Medical Surgical Centre specializes in the state-of-the-art treatment of hematological, oncological and autoimmune diseases. The accommodation standards and quality of medical care in the Department are at least equal to those of leading American and Western European medical centers. Of special interest for our foreign guests is an innovative technology of high-dose immunosuppressive therapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders caused by an attack of a patient's own healthy tissues by his/her immune system. This group includes multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus and many other diseases. Multiple sclerosis is one of widespread autoimmune diseases of the nervous system. It is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system, caused by autoimmune reactivity of T-cells towards components of neural cells. Although multiple sclerosis is a non-life-threatening disorder, its progression inevitably leads to impairment of the patient's ability to move, sensitive disturbances and cognitive impairment. The disease progresses slowly and, at the end, the patient is essentially confined to a wheelchair. NEW PROMISING THERAPY FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENTS IS HIGH-DOSE IMMUNOSUPRESSIVE THERAPY WITH HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION. Chemotherapy eliminates the cause of the disease - autoimmune T-cells that are responsible for the nervous tissue damage. Then the patient is transplanted with his/her own (autologous) stem cells, which were collected and frozen in advance. This approach may stop the progression of the disease in most patients and prevent further decrease of their quality of life. Importantly, multiple sclerosis patients do not need any maintenance therapy after transplantation. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis has been studied in the USA and Europe since 1995. During last decade more than 700 patients have received this treatment. According to the European Registry, the efficiency of high-dose immunosuppressive therapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis approximates 75%-80%. It is most effective in young patients with rapidly progressing multiple sclerosis in its early stages, when the leading mechanism of the damage to the nervous system is autoimmune inflammation. Later in the course of the disease, when the irreversible damage is done, the effect of the transplantation is limited. High-dose immunosuppressive therapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation holds great promise as an effective tool for treatment of other autoimmune diseases, namely rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, pemphigus vulgaris and systemic lupus erythematosus. The specialists of our Department have accumulated vast experience in applying stem cell transplantation to the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Our results were reported at major international meetings and received an unambiguous support from experts in the field. Importantly, this approach has nothing to do with the so called "cell therapy" approaches that are popular in Russia nowadays. Stem cells which are transplanted to a patient are his own (autologous) stem cells and are by no means of fetal origin. Chemotherapy and stem cell transplantations are performed according to the standards of the European Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) Organization and International Society of Cellular Therapy (ISCT). We carefully weigh risk and benefits of transplantation in every individual case. Detailed examination always precedes the final decision about the appropriateness of high-dose immunosuppressive therapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We will be happy to provide you with further information on the possibility of treatment in our Department. |
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