TY - JOUR T1 - Another brick in the wall: further evidence supporting the role of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in treating multiple sclerosis JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry SP - 496 LP - 496 DO - 10.1136/jnnp-2018-319715 VL - 90 IS - 5 AU - Harold L Atkins Y1 - 2019/05/01 UR - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/90/5/496.abstract N2 - Over the last 30 years, disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) that target the immune system either by lymphocytoreduction or by modulating lymphocyte function have become available to treat multiple sclerosis. While all control the episodic acute inflammation of the central nervous system, disease activity ultimately breaks through inevitably resulting in progressive disabilities. It is against this background that the role of autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has been examined. A combination of antibody and chemotherapeutic agents destroys the autoreactive disease-mediating immune system while an infusion of an autologous haematopoietic stem cell graft accelerates haematopoietic reconstitution and provides the seeds for a naïve replacement immune system. Evidence supporting a role for aHSCT continues to accumulate through prospective phase II cohort studies, registry-based long-term follow-up observations … ER -