New hope for people suffering with multiple sclerosis

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- There is new hope for people with a disease that can rob people of their movement and vision. Early research finds patients' own blood cells may be able to reverse the disability of multiple sclerosis.

Becky Hopkins began having numbness in her hands and torso and her diagnosis was multiple sclerosis, or MS.

"In the beginning it was terrifying not knowing anything about it," said Becky.

Eight years later, Becky participated in the 2014 Bike MS.

The Kansas City realtor credits exercise and weekly injections of a medicine with keeps attacks of MS away -- attacks that can result in disability, yet there's always that worry.

"You have no idea if an attack is going to hit you," said Becky.

Even though there's an array of injections and pills available now, they don't help everyone -- and they don't reverse disability.

That's why there's excitement about an early study.

Researchers removed stem cells from MS patients and gave them low-dose chemotherapy to turn down their immune system activity.

In MS, the immune system attacks the protective sheath around nerve fibers -- then the patients got their stem cells back.

Half saw modest improvements in functioning in the two years of follow-up.

"Which in the lifespan of a patient with MS is relatively short so we really need to gather more information for long-term implications, but I do think it's a very exciting study," said Dr. Christine Boutwell.

The Neurologist at St. Luke's Hospital also cautions that improvements were only seen in people with earlier disease like Becky has. And the study didn't compare stem cell therapy to other therapies.

The study is published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.