DENVER — The Colorado Blood Cancer Institute at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s is leading the way in a type of stem cell therapy to treat autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS).
The treatment is called autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT), and Dr. Richard Nash and his team have more than 20 years of experience with it.
“We administer a round of chemotherapy over a single day, and then we sort of follow the patients after the chemotherapy counts drop,” said Dr. Nash. “Then as counts increase, there's release of the stem cells into the peripheral blood. We collect those stem cells, and then they're frozen.”
After patients recover from the initial round of chemotherapy, they are given a much higher dose. The team then prepares to transplant the patient’s own frozen stem cells back into their body.
“After the high dose chemotherapy is given, Day Zero is the day that we actually do the transplant where the cells are thawed and infused back into the patient,” said Dr. Nash. “If we don't do the transplant… those high doses will result in the fact that patients will not recover their blood counts. Those stem cells then give rise to the blood-forming cells that are needed for the recovery of counts after the transplant.”
Vickie Villegas traveled from California to Colorado for the treatment. She worked multiple jobs, including as a nurse practitioner, before noticing symptoms of her autoimmune disease.
“When I was diagnosed, I had Bell's palsy on the right side, and I had trigeminal neuralgia,” said Villegas. “I finally started having issues with my balance, and that's what took me to the ER.”
MS can be hard to treat for many patients, and that was true for Villegas. She tried acupuncture, functional medicine, traditional medicine and physical therapy but nothing worked. Her experience as a nurse allowed her to research AHSCT and choose the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute for its experience and safety, but her experience as a mother gave her the motivation to continue fighting.
“My children were quite small when I was diagnosed, and I told myself I wanted to be there for them as they grew up,” said Villegas. “Be there as a mother and participate in activities, and their school activities, their home activities, just watching them grow up and being a little bit more mobile.”
The treatment has been a success for Villegas. Her symptoms have improved dramatically, and she’s now able to do more things out of the house with her family.
“I love going to musicals. I've been able to book some nearby and attend the events," said Villegas. “I've been able to do other music shows with them, even like the LA Opera. Over the summer, I took them glamping to the beach, and we were able to stay there on our own. So, just being able to get out and do things.”
While this treatment is working for Villegas, Dr. Nash wants potential patients to know that the procedure does not come without risks. Before considering treatment like this, it’s important to have a clear conversation with your doctor.
“What patients should be looking at if they're going to be choosing the site is choose a site where there's experience both in the transplant side but also on the neurologist side, as well,” said Dr. Nash. “For transplants, even though they potentially offer a significant hope, there are potential issues and adverse effects, as well, that might be experienced. So that's something that we review with the patients… I think that we try and offer the patients hope, as well as talk about the fact that there's potential side effects and risks associated with the transplant. And then it's up to the patient to make a decision.”
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