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Where did Selma Blair get treatment?
Selma Blair had come to Chicago for a little-known but often highly effective multiple sclerosis treatment pioneered in this country by Northwestern University's Dr. Richard Burt.
How did Selma Blair get better?
Blair, who had been left with intense physical pain, told reporters her condition had improved as a result of a stem cell transplant and chemotherapy. "My prognosis is great," she said. "I'm in remission. Stem cell put me in remission."
What kind of chemo did Selma Blair have?
Stem cell put me in remission,” she said during a discovery+ Television Critics Association panel in support of her upcoming documentary, Introducing Selma Blair, which premieres Oct. 15. “It took about a year after stem cell for the inflammation and lesions to really go down,” she said.
Why does Selma Blair get chemo?
The actress, who is releasing a new documentary this week titled “Introducing, Selma Blair,” received an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis.
How long can you live with MS?
One study has found that the average life expectancy for people with MS is 76 years of age. In 2019, the U.S. life-expectancy averaged 78.8 years, and in 2020 it declined to 77.3 years, primarily due to the COVID pandemic. Many people with MS may live for 25 to 35 years or longer after their diagnosis.
What can cause multiple sclerosis?
The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown. It's considered an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues. In the case of MS , this immune system malfunction destroys the fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord (myelin).
How was Jack Osbourne diagnosed with MS?
After extensive testing—including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and lumbar puncture (spinal tap)—Osbourne was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS)—the most common form of the degenerative, neurologic condition.
What actress has multiple sclerosis?
Selma BlairOct 20 (Reuters) - In October 2018, Selma Blair announced to her fans that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an incurable debilitating neurological condition in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of nerves.
Is MS a terminal illness?
MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties. The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.
Can MS be cured?
There's currently no cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), but medicines and other treatments can help control the condition [JJ1] and ease some of the symptoms. Treatment for MS depends on the stage of the disease and the specific symptoms the person has. It may include: treating relapses of MS symptoms (with steroids)
What sclerosis means?
Definition of sclerosis 1 : pathological hardening of tissue especially from overgrowth of fibrous tissue or increase in interstitial tissue also : a disease characterized by sclerosis. 2 : an inability or reluctance to adapt or compromise political sclerosis.
Can chemo cure MS?
Chemotherapy is also used in stem cell therapies for MS. In MS the immune system attacks the myelin sheath around the nerves of the central nervous system. Chemotherapy drugs are used to kill white blood cells, which are part of this attack. This may slow down or stop disease activity in MS.
What is Selma Blair's treatment called?
Image: Instagram. Selma Blair revealed via Instagram that she is undergoing a stem cell treatment called hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to slow down her multiple sclerosis. This experimental treatment uses chemotherapy to reset and rebuild a patient’s immune system. The therapy includes many of the risks and side effects ...
Why did Selma Blair do HSCT?
In a recent Instagram post, actress Selma Blair showed off her newly shaven head and announced she “did HSCT” in an effort to slow down the progression of her multiple sclerosis. This left many in the MS community wondering about the specifics of this new and relatively unknown treatment for MS.
Is HSCT safe for MS?
In order for HSCT to be more available, the medical community has to be convinced that it is a safe and effective treatment for MS.
Does HSCT need FDA approval?
He further explained that HSCT does not fall under the jurisdiction of needing an FDA approval because it is a procedure and not a specific drug. All the medications and protocols used are FDA approved for other indications. “HSCT is not readily available.
Does stem cell therapy work for MS?
Bebo explained that some procedures for MS use more mild forms of chemotherapy to keep part of the immune system in tact. Other procedures using stronger chemo carry greater risks.
Can MS patients go back to HSCT?
“Once you do [HSCT] you can’t go back. It is making a permanent change to your immune system,” he said.
Who performed the first phase 2 of HSCT?
What researchers know about HSCT. In 2018, the first phase 2 clinical trial for HSCT was performed by Dr. Richard Burt , chief of immunotherapy and autoimmune diseases at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Illinois. Some called it a game changer. A common misconception is that HSCT will reverse MS progress.
When was Selma Blair's health summit?
Selma Blair poses backstage during the TIME 100 Health Summit at Pier 17 on October 17, 2019 in New York City. Getty Images. The actress said undergoing chemotherapy treatment forced her to consider what would happen in the event of her death.
What did Selma Blair talk about?
A year after her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, Selma Blair took to the stage in New York City this week to speak about her stem cell transplant and chemotherapy treatment. The outspoken “Cruel Intentions” actress spoke at the TIME 100 Health Summit on Thursday in a bright pink Christian Dior pantsuit. Blair, 47, carried a cane onstage and used ...
How many people are affected by MS?
More than 2.3 million people around the world are affected by MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The condition makes the body’s immune system attack the brain and the spinal cord. Blair said the idea behind the chemotherapy treatments was to jump start her immune system.
Is Selma Blair out of options?
Selma Blair was 'out of options' before undergoing chemo for treatment of MS. “My dream is to lie next to my son at night and be there as long as he needs me,” she said. Actor Selma Blair speaks onstage during the TIME 100 Health Summit at Pier 17 on October 17, 2019 in New York City. Getty Images.
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What campaigns has Blair been in?
Blair looked sensational on the red carpet, and the glamorous aspects of her career (as well as being known for her roles in Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, and The Sweetest Thing, she's starred in campaigns for Chanel, Miu Miu, and Gap) are important to her on a deeper level.
Is Selma Blair diagnosed with MS?
Since she revealed her multiple sclerosis diagnosis to the world in October 2018, Selma Blair hasn't shied away from sharing what it's like to live with this autoimmune disorder. Now, she's opening up to the one early MS symptom that made her realize something wasn't right with her body.
When did Burt's MS trial end?
Though the formal MS clinical trial ended in July 2016, Blair was treated this summer, possibly under the FDA’s expanded access process.
What is Burt's HSCT protocol?
universities and clinics to make his HSCT protocol more available, saying, “This is in my assessment … the best way to help the world, and humanity, and help patients to move this forward, to get the treatment more widely around the world.”.
What did Burt say about the FDA warning?
The Scientist goes into details of the FDA warning and quotes Burt as saying the letter had nothing to do with his sudden sabbatical: “Burt stresses that the closure of his clinic is not linked to issues cited in the FDA letter.
Is Richard Burt's stem cell program shutting down?
Richard Burt, MD, the chief of Northwestern Medicine’s immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases division, is taking a sabbatical, and the stem cell program he has headed for many years, which treated a number of people with MS, is shutting down.
