"Jennifer Molson was  juggling a day job and night school to pursue her dream of becoming a cop when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She woke up one morning with pins and needles in her hand and within a week she couldnt move her left arm. By  five years later she was living in the Ottawa Hospital under hour care getting around using a cane walker or wheelchair. When she was discharged on weekends to spend time with her thenboyfriend Aaron she had to rely on him for her every need. Hed cut her food into bitesize pieces and bathe and dress her. When she lost control of her bladder or bowel hed help her go to the bathroom. I had no feeling from the chest down Molson says. I could touch something boiling on the stove and burn myself. I could touch fabric without knowing whether its sandpaper. For patients like Molson with a severe form of MS and no response to the available medications theres little hope. Two years later her life had taken an abrupt turn. I walked down the aisle and danced at my wedding something I had always dreamed of doing she said of her marriage to Aaron in . Now  years later Molson is still skiing and kayaking on the weekends. She works as a research assistant at Ottawa Hospital. What happened is something even esteemed medical specialists are venturing to call a miracle The particularly aggressive MS that was on track to disable Molson entirely  and potentially kill her  is now virtually eliminated from her body. The game changer for Molson was an experimental chemotherapy and stem cell bone marrow transplant she got in  as part of a study in Canada. Molson was one of a small cohort of  people with MS who received the highrisk therapy. Of the  patients  percent saw the progression of their disease halted or reversed. Their experience documented in a paper published today in the Lancet http is the first to describe any MS treatment that fully stops the disease over the long term without MS medication. Everyone is hesitating to use the c word but these patients are cured says Michael Rudnicki httprudnickilab.capeoplemrudnicki director of the Regenerative Medicine Program and the Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Ottawa Health Research Institute who was not involved with the research. Jennifer Molson was in a wheelchair in a rehab center unable to work. And now shes skiing shes working she got married got her drivers license. I think this is going to be the new standard of care for progressive MS. My greatest hope was that the disease would stabilize MS affects about . million people around the world particularly women in more temperate climates like Canada and the northern US. Instead of protecting the body from foreign invaders in patients with MS the immune system turns on its host wreaking particular damage on the myelin a protective coating around the nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. Eventually these attacks can severely damage and destroy the nerves and myelin interrupting the communication between the brain and body and leading to symptoms like numbness trouble walking and even blindness. But not all patients symptoms manifest in the same way. People with relapsing remitting disease experience MS in fits and starts  their symptoms show up for a few days or weeks followed by weeks months or even years of remission. For most patients with this version of the disease those periods of remission get smaller over time and eventually disappear moving them into a new phase of disease known as secondary progressive MS. Other patients experience something even more insidious and grinding. Its called primary progressive MS and instead of bouts of remission they see a continuous increase in symptoms accompanied by a decline in health. Molson had secondary progressive MS at the time of her treatment in . She had tried medication and nothing worked.  Her doctor Mark Freedman one of the authors on the Lancet paper told her the stem cell transplant wasnt going to cure her but at best if the procedure went well her health wouldnt worsen. My greatest hope was that the disease would stabilize Molson says. I looked at Aaron now my husband and said If I dont do this and it proves to work Id be kicking myself if my disease progressed. It felt like I really didnt have a choice. How stem cells gave Molson a new immune system Once she was accepted into the study doctors began the procedure. They first put her through a short course of chemotherapy to stimulate the production of hematopoietic stem cells which regenerate the immune system in her blood. They then hooked her up to a machine that cycled through her blood  times over the course of seven hours in order to collect stem cells. Those stem cells were then purified wiped of any memory of the disease to later be transplanted into Molson through a blood transfusion. The most trying part of the treatment Molson had to endure  days of chemotherapy. The doctors were essentially killing off her diseased immune system only to later replace it with a new one in the form of her own purified stem cells. But the experience was grueling. Molson likened it to hell. I had a feeding tube because I was constantly nauseous she says. I couldnt keep my food down. Growing a new diseasefree immune system meant Molsons body had to relearn how to defend itself from diseasecausing bacteria and viruses. She had to get her childhood vaccines again. But she was also more vulnerable to infection and wound up developing a blood infection shingles and serious bladder infections shortly after the transplant. It took me at least a year before I started to feel human again Molson says. Around a year and half after the transplant she began to slowly return to some likeness of her preMS self She was walking without using a cane she could shop in the grocery store again and eventually she didnt need to nap every afternoon. I thought Maybe I can go back to work she says. By  four years after her treatment she returned to work full time. She chose to work at the Ottawa Hospital she said after seeing firsthand how research can change peoples lives. Molson now  says I havent had any MS symptoms in  years. And Im not on any MS medications. Thats a big deal given that the medications usually involve daily pills or frequent injections. But treatment has also left her several unpleasant side effects. Because the chemotherapy damaged her ovaries and put her into early menopause shes on hormone replacement therapy  and wouldnt be able to get pregnant. While she was given the chance to harvest her eggs she declined. I couldnt look after myself how could I raise children she says. Remember I wasnt supposed to get better. She also has to be extra cautious about any exposure to infections. I was at the dentist three weeks ago and I had to be on antibiotics before I went for a teeth cleaning she says. There are still parts of the immune system that you have to be careful about. Molsons hair never fully grew back and she also contends with daily heartburn and digestive issues which she takes medications for. Otherwise Molson says she feels as good as she did when she was  before her diagnosis. I dont take anything for granted. I got a second chance at life. Only  percent of MS patients will be eligible for this new treatment The study that gave Molson this chance was impressive in its scope and its execution  conducted at multiple hospitals by hematologists and neurologists in Canada and lasting nearly  years from conception to publication. It built on decades of basic research about MS stem cells and the immune system including years of experience using the treatment in patients with blood and bone marrow cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. Other scientists have already seen promising results in MS patients using similar treatment protocols but none have managed what Atkinss team has to completely halt the diseases attack on the brain no relapses no new MRI lesions in all surviving patients  and for such a long followup period. Several researchers who were not involved with the experiment  and who typically are reserved about novel treatments  told Vox they were excited and hopeful for the treatments potential to benefit others with the disease. I think this is going to be the new standard of care for progressive MS said Rudnicki. Its exciting  an important proof of principle said Jeffrey Gelfand https a neurologist specializing in MS at the University of California San Francisco. Tim Caulfield http a University of Alberta professor who has been tracking stem cell research noted the difference between this robust finding and the unfounded claims in stem cell clinics around the world This is a fascinating development  and a good example of the difference between the real clinical research and what is being marketed by the clinics providing unproven therapies  you cant simply inject stem cells and expect significant results. Still there are major caveats to consider. This study was small and lacked a comparison or control arm. Similar larger studies are needed to confirm the results and its not clear what will happen to patients like Molson in the much longer term. Ottawa Hospital hematologist Harry Atkins http the researcher who led the study pointed out that only about  percent of MS patients would be eligible for this treatment again the minority who have an aggressive form of MS thats not responding to any treatment. And not everyone in the study had results like Molsons. Of the  patients  percent saw the progression of their disease halt or reverse but the other  percent continued to worsen. That minority who didnt respond the researchers think had MS that was already too far along by the time of their treatment. At early stages once the immune system quiets down the brain can partially heal itself so the disability tends to get better Atkins explained. But as time goes on the brain cant repair itself. One patient died which puts the potential for death from this procedure at around  percent and severe infections after stem cell treatments  the kind Molson picked up or worse  are also common. Since there are other MS medications that are much less toxic and can help some patients doctors only recommend considering this therapy as a last resort. Theoretically the treatment could be done in most blood and marrow transplant centers associated with major hospitals Atkins said but there are only a few that perform the procedure. Interested patients can contact the MS Society http for more information. Theres also the cost Atkins put it at about  to  per patient  and thats if nothing goes wrong. Although MS medications now cost http about as much for patients every year in the US so this therapy could actually be a money saver. And there are questions about the very longterm effects. Its not clear what the next   or  years look like for patients like Molson. We know in the long term survivors from groups that have their transplants for cancer and theyre cured and they live a long time Atkins said that they have a higher incidence of the general population of other diseases such as heart disease and cancers. Already Atkins and his team have been working on other applications for this stem cell procedure. They managed to reverse stiffperson syndrome httpstemcellfoundation.caenstemcelltransplantputathleteslifebackontrack  a rare neurological disease that causes the muscles in the body contract to the point of complete immobilization  in one patient. And theres talk of applying the treatment to myasthenia gravis http_gravisdetail_myasthenia_gravis.htm another incurable autoimmune disease. Cures in medicine are extremely rare. Its still too early to label this treatment a cure for MS. We have only followed our patients for up to  years Atkins said so its hard to say what the next  to  will bring. Youd want to know that before youd call this a cure. For now though Atkins will use the word miracle. It still appears like a miracle to me to see patients recover and get back to the things that they were supposed to do in life he said. It is very rewarding to see and it wasnt what we expected and we are overjoyed about it to know this treatment can help people in that way. Correction An earlier version of this article misstated the worldwide prevalence of MS."