The long-term effect of AHSCT on MRI measures of MS evolution: a five-year follow-up study

Using MRI, we measured disease activity and brain atrophy in nine multiple sclerosis patients treated with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) for a mean follow up of 63 months. We show that AHSCT is associated to a longlasting suppression of inflammation and to a marked decrease of the rate of brain atrophy after the second year following treatment.