Ottawa Doctors Reverse MS with Groundbreaking New Treatment

They might not be rock stars, but neurologist Dr. Mark Freedman and bone marrow transplant physician Dr. Harold Atkins of Ottawa Hospital are superheroes in their own right.

In a 13-year clinical study of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the doctors came across all sorts of patients with debilitating symptoms of this disease. Even some who had contracted leukemia. After receiving bone marrow transplants to help “reboot their immune system,” the doctors noticed that their MS symptoms improved too.

Using stem cells, the doctors can now reverse even severe MS, as Jennifer Molson experienced firsthand. In 2002 she signed up for the high-risk, experimental therapy which involves a combination of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants. Now its been virtually eliminated from her body.

Of the patients who participated in the study, 70% saw the disease halted or reversed. While Molson could barely walk or feed herself, she is now back to athletic, independent self, and hasn’t experienced symptoms in 14 years.

MS affects 20 million people worldwide, targeting females in Canada and the Northern US. The disease, which can confine people to wheelchairs, occurs when the immune system turns on the host and affects the protective coating around the nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.

Join us in giving our heartfelt thanks to these extraordinary doctors (and Canadians!), who have drastically improved the lives of millions of people around the globe. For an in-depth explanation of the study and how the bone marrow treatments work to reverse MS, click here!