MS Sufferer Scott to Undergo Cord Blood Stem-Cell Treatment

Leicester Mercury (UK), July 6, 2006

Twenty-seven year old Scott from Balby in the UK has suffered from multiple sclerosis most of his life. However, today Scott is on his way to Holland to undergo the first stage of a stem-cell based treatment that he hopes will transform his life and defeat his terminal illness. Unable to feed himself and confined to a wheelchair, Scott hopes the injections will help him walk again.

Scott’s mother, Sue, said: "We know there are no guarantees with this treatment, but we realize it's the best chance Scott has."

The treatment involves three days of intense therapy, and patients that decided to undergo the procedure claim their condition significantly improved.

Scott could start to experience therapeutic benefits within months.

In the Dutch city of Eindhoven, Scott is set to receive “aqua tilis” therapy in a clinic today. The procedure requires Scott to sit in a cabin for approximately half an hour while being surrounded by water vapor which will enter his body’s pours, a process which facilitates detoxification and increases the chances of the stem-cell treatment being successful.

Scheduled for tomorrow at a clinic in Rotterdam, Beanlands’ appointment will involve injections of umbilical cord blood stem-cells into his body.

The hope is that the healthy stem-cells will replace the diseased or dysfunctional ones in Scott’s body, and become a new life-long repair system.

The treatment costs £13,000, much of which was raised by Leicester Mercury readers after we first told Scott's story.