Stem cells inhibiting inflammatory attack

Epub: Li et al. The potential of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a novel cellular therapy for multiple sclerosis. Cell Transplant. 2014.

Background: MS is a complex disease of neurological disability, affecting more than 300 out of every one million people in the world. 
Aim: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (hUC-MSC) transplantation in MSers. 
Methods: 23 MSers were enrolled in this study and 13 of them were given hUC-MSC therapy at the same time as anti-inflammatory treatment, whereas the control patients received the anti-inflammatory treatment only. Treatment schedule included 1,000 mg/kg of methylprednisolone i.v. daily for 3 days and then 500 mg/kg for 2 days, followed by oral prednisone 1mg/kg/day for 10 days. The dosage of prednisone was then reduced by 5mg every two weeks until reaching a 5mg/day maintenance dosage. Intravenous infusion of hUC-MSCs was applied three times in a 6 week period for each patient. The overall symptoms of the hUC-MSC treated patients improved compared to patients in the control group. Both the EDSS scores and relapse occurrence were significantly lower than those of the control patients. Inflammatory cytokines were assessed, and the data demonstrated a shift from Th1 to Th2 immunity in hUC-MSC treated patients. Our data demonstrated a high potential for hUC-MSC treatment of MS

There you have it. Stem cells seem to have benefit but based on most data I have seen they do not really turn into anything and dies within a few days but that may make enough growth factors to promote repair