Actress Selma Blair
Selma Blair
Selma Blair Beitner is an American actress. She played a number of small roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film Brown's Requiem. Her breakthrough came when she starred as Zoe Bean on the WB sitcom Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane, a…
How is Selma Blair treating her multiple sclerosis?
Actress Selma Blair is using an experimental stem cell therapy called HSCT to treat her multiple sclerosis. 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.
What disease does Selma Blair have in the documentary?
The documentary, in theaters Friday and on discovery+ Oct. 21, gives an intimate, unvarnished look at Blair’s struggles with the autoimmune disorder and her journey to undergo a potentially fatal stem cell transplant. “Introducing, Selma Blair” documents the star’s struggle living with multiple sclerosis.
Why did Selma Blair shave her head?
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.
Did Blair Blair have a successful stem cell transplant?
The stem cell transplant is ultimately successful, but it’s not quite the miracle cure that Blair hoped it would be. At the close of the film, she’s able to return to riding her beloved horse but she still faces challenges. “She’s like the rest of us, just getting through the day, good days and bad days,” Fleit said.
Where did Selma Blair get stem cell treatment?
Selma Blair had come to Chicago for a little-known but often highly effective multiple sclerosis treatment, pioneered in the United States by Northwestern University's Dr. Richard Burt.
What did Selma Blair do for MS?
The experimental therapy involved Blair undergoing strong chemotherapy to help reset her immune system and then strengthening her immune system using her own stem cells. She is shown having her head shaved ahead of the chemotherapy after her son Arthur, 10, cut it short before she left their home.
What type 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.
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.
How did Selma Blair get better?
Blair has also spent the last year during the pandemic working with vocal and physical therapists over Zoom to improve her movement and balance. As a result, she's learned helpful techniques to manage her body's minor flare-ups.
Why did Selma Blair go through chemo?
The actress, who is releasing a new documentary this week titled “Introducing, Selma Blair,” received an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis.
What actress has multiple sclerosis?
Actress Selma Blair has said she is "in remission" from multiple sclerosis. The 49-year-old American, known for films like Cruel Intentions, Hellboy and Legally Blonde, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2018.
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.
Does HSCT reverse MS?
A common misconception is that HSCT will reverse MS progress. It has only shown success in stopping MS activity. “Bone marrow does not provide new cells for brain building. They give you derived bone marrow cells like T and B cells,” Dr. Jaime Imitola, FAAN, director of multiple sclerosis and translational neuroimmunology at the University ...
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.
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.
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.
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.
What is aggressive chemo?
A stem cell transplant, which Dr. Angus described as aggressive and barbaric, is “aggressive chemotherapy to sort of reset your immune system ,” he explained onstage. On top of dealing with MS symptoms, “we hammer the hell out of you with a drug,” he said.
Is the chemo cure for MS?
The chemo is the MS cure, if in fact it does that.”. But luckily, although she did have some complications, the Cruel Intentions star felt that it went pretty well. While she’s still recovering, she’s feeling pretty good. She has her cane and her bike, both of which she relies on heavily.
Did Selma Blair get a stem cell transplant?
Blair received a stem cell transplant but has avoided talking about it until sitting down with doctors Mehmet Oz and David Angus for TIME 100’s health summit this week.
How old is Selma Blair?
Selma Blair, 47 , has been super open about her life with multiple sclerosis on her Instagram over the last year. The actress took her personal story to a bigger stage at the Time 100 Health Summit this week and revealed more about her treatment.
Is Selma still recovering from chemo?
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Following the chemotherapy and stem cell treatment, Selma revealed she is still recovering.
Did Selma Blair have chemo?
Selma Blair opened up about undergoing chemotherapy for multiple sclerosis at the Time 100 Health Summit. The actress revealed she and her son planned for her death before starting chemo. Selma says she "had more chemo than they usually do for cancer patients, because they almost kill you.". Selma Blair, 47, has been super open about her life ...
What is the difference between MS and a pinched nerve?
The main difference between a pinched nerve and MS symptoms, however, is that a pinched nerve causes numbness or tingling in a specific, limited area of the body, while “MS tends to cause more encompassing symptoms where, for example, an entire limb might go numb and weak or half the body," says Dr. Sachdev.
What is Selma Blair's diagnosis?
Selma Blair opened up to Good Morning America and Vanity Fair with details about her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. The actress was diagnosed with MS in August 2018, after seeing a doctor for what she thought was a pinched nerve. MS is an incurable disease of the central nervous system that affects how the body and brain communicate.
How do you know if you have MS?
After making an appearance at Sunday’s Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty ( patent-leather cane in hand ), the 46-year-old actress appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday, where she spoke about her multiple sclerosis (MS) ...
How long does MS flare up?
Of course, no two cases of MS are the same, so symptoms can present differently in each person, but flares typically last a few days. In cases where there's new damage due to inflammation, the symptoms could take up to a few months to resolve.
What is MS in medical terms?
Hold on, tell me a little bit about MS. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an often disabling disease of the central nervous system, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The body's immune system attacks nerve endings in the central nervous system, per the NIH, which essentially disrupts the flow of information within ...
When was Selma's son diagnosed with MS?
Despite grappling with undiagnosed MS flare-ups since the birth of her son in 2011, Selma struggled to get doctors to take her symptoms seriously. When she was finally diagnosed following an MRI in 2018—after doctors found 20 different MS-related lesions on her brain—she recalled actually feeling a sense of relief.
Did Selma have a pinched nerve?
Selma said she initially thought she had a pinched nerve —and her friend Elizabeth Berkley (yep, of Saved By The Bell) urged her to see her brother Jason Berkley, D.O., a neurologist in Los Angeles. Selma says Berkley gave her the MS diagnosis after "finding lesions on [an] MRI.". "I have had symptoms for years," Selma wrote, ...
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 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.
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.”.
How much did Burt charge for the trial?
He raises the point that the Burt program charged $100,000 or more to participate in the trial. Also, in late 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to Burt, alleging that the trial “violated regulations governing the proper conduct of clinical studies involving investigational new drugs … .”.
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.
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