Mission
Our mission is to:
đź“Ś Help patients and healthcare providers make informed decisions about AHSCT.
đź“Ś Make scientific evidence understandable to the general population.
đź“Ś Present scientific facts (i.e., evidence-based research) without promoting unrealistic hopes.
Purpose
“This non-profit website is part of the “Cure Multiple Sclerosis” project, which aims to identify, disseminate, implement, and verify therapeutic strategies potentially capable of curing MS. The goal is ambitious, but some results from scientific research indicate that this objective is not as distant and unattainable as it may initially appear: there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
This website is dedicated mainly to AHSCT (i.e., transplant) because AHSCT is the procedure that may, in some patients, approach a cure for MS.
On this website, you won’t find miraculous recipes or simple solutions to a complex problem like MS, and it does not intend to fuel unfounded hopes or illusions.
The information on this site has been previously published in scientific journals, which use the “peer review” method, meaning each article is subject to evaluation by other scientists and is published only if it passes their scrutiny.
This website is part of the research project “Cure Multiple Sclerosis” funded through donations or bequests to the non-profit organization (ONLUS) FORB affiliated with the University of Turin. FORB has approved the creation of this website.
This website is not a commercial website”.
Antonio Bertolotto, neurologist
Why A Website About AHSCT?
We have chosen to dedicate this website mainly to AHSCT because this topic is only marginally addressed in both the scientific literature and in scientific meetings.
To date, interest in this procedure remains limited, despite analyses of the results showing that no treatment, in any study, has been proven to be more effective, radiologically, clinically, or immunologically, than AHSCT. At the latest ECTRIMS 2024 in Copenhagen (September 17 to 20), only 4 out of 110 presentations and 21 out of 1658 posters were focused on AHSCT.
Furthermore, in the early months of 2024, two scientific outreach articles were published, the first by a prestigious scientific journal and the second by a highly reputable economic newspaper: Nature and The Economist, respectively. Both articles introduced new treatments and procedures for addressing MS, and neither of them makes any reference or citation to AHSCT.
In an article on scientific outreach published in January 2024 on Nature (Can autoimmune diseases be cured? Scientists see hope at last), the possibility of curing AIDs such as MS was explored. The author, Cassandra Willyart, presented new and intriguing treatment possibilities for AIDs; unfortunately, she did not mention AHSCT.
Currently, new avenues for treating MS are emerging, and the topic is of such significant interest that it has reached prestigious publications like The Economist. In the March 2024 issue, under the “Science and Technology” section, the focus is on the potential use of antivirals and vaccines against EBV (a virus fundamental to the development of MS) to prevent MS. However, even in this issue, readers were not informed about the possibility of approaching a cure through AHSCT.
Who We Are
Supporting me in the management and updating of this website is Sabdi Valverde, a tech-enthusiast, and biologist who attended the University of Turin, graduating from the Department of Molecular Biotechnology in 2020 with a thesis on NURR1 in MS.
Since graduation, Sabdi worked in a dedicated MS lab, in an NHS lab and in private industry.
Contributors' Feedback
Any suggestions or corrections are welcome to help improve this website. Please write us at info@curems.net
Thanks to:
- Bram Platel for improving the clarity of the home page, the data about the Netherlands in the section “AHSCT Centers and Costs” and images of conditioning protocols.
- Alice Mariottini for improving table on comparison between AHSCT vs. DMT and for risk of transplantation.
- Susan Goelz, for reading and correcting the drafts of CureMS.
Conflict of Interest
Dr. Bertolotto:
- is not a direct prescriber of DMTs, as he does not work in an authorized MS Center for DMT prescriptions.
- does not work in a Clinical Center that performs AHSCT.
- has no financial interest in the use of AHSCT.
In the years 2022-2024, Dr. Bertolotto has received:
- support to attend scientific conferences from Merck, Sanofi, Roche, FORB, Biogen, AISM and Sandoz
- honoraria for lectures from Novartis, Sandoz
Dr. Valverde declares no conflicts of interest.
Disclaimer
Medical Liability Disclaimer
The information presented on this website “Cure Multiple Sclerosis” is intended for general knowledge and informational purposes only. Therefore, it is not a substitute for professional medical advice provided by a qualified healthcare practitioner (i.e., an individual legally authorized to practice medicine), or, as appropriate, other healthcare professionals such as dentists, nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, veterinarians, physiotherapists, etc.
Fondazione Ricerca Biomedica, ONLUS
The content on the website “Cure Multiple Sclerosis” represents the opinion of the Site’s responsible party (Dr. Bertolotto) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the FORB, ONLUS.
Funding
The “Cure Multiple Sclerosis” project and this website are funded by donations and bequests to the “Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica”, a non-profit organization (ONLUS), with the purpose of “Research coordinated by Dr. Bertolotto”.
The “Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica”, ONLUS (FORB), is a non-profit organization, and, thanks to donations from businesses and private individuals, it funds research projects.
“Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica” is located at Via Nizza, n. 52, at the Center for Molecular Biotechnology Research, Turin.
Donations
You can support this website with a donation to:
Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica – ONLUS, Via Nizza, 52 – 10126 TORINO
Bank transfer to: “Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica-ONLUS”
IBAN – IT 64 S030 6909 6061 0000 0010 185 – BIC/SWIFT – BCITITMM
Please specify in the reference/reason “Research coordinated by Dr. Bertolotto” so that the Foundation can use your donation for the fight against MS.
Currently, the research and scientific dissemination activities of Dr. Bertolotto include the projects “AforiSMa: Information on Multiple Sclerosis”, “Cure Multiple Sclerosis”, “Serum Biomarkers” and “NURR1 in MS”.