For patients suffering from symptoms of multiple sclerosis, or MS, that appear to be worsening each day, there may be few options remaining. These is especially true if the patient has failed to respond to more conventional forms of medication. There are forms of treatment available now that involve the use of chemotherapy to assist in restoring the body’s healthy immune system by basically starting from scratch.

A Last Resort

This particular use of chemotherapy to treat MS is considered a last resort. It is reserved for patients whose symptoms grow progressively worse each day and do not appear to be getting better at all. These people have also failed to respond to other medications and thus a more drastic approach is needed. This particular treatment calls for a radical measure: the total elimination of the body’s immune system so that it may be replaced and allowed to be healthy again. Patients will be administered high-dose whole body irradiation after which they will have their bone marrow completely wiped out. Bone marrow is where immune system and other cells are produced. Then, patients will be administered special antibodies to ensure the death of any remaining cells in the blood.

When treatment begins, patients will receive an immune boosting injection that fills the blood with stem cells. These stem cells are drawn from the patient and then injected again to help kick start new growth in the immune system. Some results have shown that many patients did not need to continue taking MS drugs after this drastic form of treatment. Many patients who have undergone this type of therapy remain stable. However, some patients do need to continue drugs, and some patients have actually gotten worse. It is worth discussing with your doctor, however, especially if you are suffering from chronic symptoms with no response to normal medications.

Novantrone is a drug also prescribed to patients with MS. Novantrone is a chemotherapy drug that may work alone or in combination with other drugs. Patients that have been taking another popular drug –Betaseron—with no response may combine the drug with Novantrone to see results. Eventually, less Novantrone will be used, and patients can return to taking doses of Betaseron or another drug. Some side effects to consider include hair thinning, loss of menstruation, and stomach and intestinal problems. Women who plan to become pregnant during the course of treatment should not take this medicine.