Experimental multiple sclerosis therapy stops disease in its tracks

APointe-Claire man says he knows from personal experience that new stem celltreatmentscould give someone with multiple sclerosisa second chance.

It's allowed me to sort of lead a normal life, which is all I've ever wanted- Alexandre Normandin

Alexandre Normandin was diagnosed with the degenerativediseaseeight years ago, in his third year of medical school at McGill University.

He said what started out asa little numbness on his left temple, turned out to be rapidly progressing MS.

"The way it was going, it wouldn't be surprising, within months [or]years, to wind up in a wheelchair," he toldCBC'sDaybreakhost MikeFinnerty

When Normandinfound out an experimental stem cell therapy amyeloablativetransplantwas being offered at the Ottawa General hospital in 2008,he didn't hesitate to sign up.

The treatment was risky Normandin had to go through 15 days of chemotherapy in order to completely wipe his immune system and eliminate themutation that caused his MS.

But it worked.

Years later,Normandin runshis own medical practice.

"The progression of the disease has been fully stopped I still have some fatigue, I still have some issues with balance, but in general compared with what the alternative would have been, I think it's a miracle cure," he said.

"It's allowed me to sort of lead a normal life, which is all I've ever wanted. It's not fully normal but it's the closest to normal that it could have been."

Researchers are still pursuing stemcell therapiesas a treatment for MS.

Earlier this year,the Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundationawarded a$4.2 million grant to researchers at the Ottawa Hospital andHealth Sciences Centre (HSC) Winnipegtosupport aclinical trial for another type ofstem cell therapy mesenchymalstem cell therapy.