Summary

Background Although there is no effective cure for this disease, high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT), together with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) offers promising results in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods In this paper we present results of a prospective clinical study of safety and efficacy of HDCT+auto-HSCT in MS patients. One hundred and nine patients with various types of MS were included in this study. The patients under-went early, conventional, or salvage/late transplantation. Results The transplantation procedure was well tolerated by MS patients, with no transplant-related deaths at all. The efficacy analysis was performed in 79 patients. Forty-two achieved an objective improvement of neurological symp-toms (defined as a ≥0.5 point decrease in EDSS score as compared to the baseline and confirmed over 6 months), and 37 patients had disease stabilization (steady EDSS level as compared to the baseline and confirmed over 6 months). Quality of life (QoL) was assessed in 44 patients. Thirty-nine patients exhibited a QoL response 1 year after transplan-tation. Conclusions This study provides ample evidence in support of HDCT+auto-HSCT efficacy in MS patients. The result