A 20-year-old Australian man who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2008 has been able to get up from his wheelchair and walk after pioneering stem cell treatment.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Ben Leahy was unable to stand just a few months after being diagnosed with the muscle wasting disease, which occurs when the body’s immune system attacks nerves, causing loss of balance, paralysis and blurred vision.

Neurologist Dr Colin Andrews from Canberra and his team removed stem cells from Mr Leahy’s bone marrow and then used chemicals to destroy all his immune cells. When the stem cells were implanted back into Mr Leahy’s body they in effect ‘reset’ his immune system once they began multiplying.

Dr Andrews said the effects of the technique were ‘promising’ – and the results had so far ‘surprised’ doctors.

‘At the moment, there's a good chance we may have arrested the disease,’ he said.

Mr Leahy was said to be walking ‘pretty well’, with some weakness in his right leg and some loss of vision in one eye. However, Dr Andrews said that, apart from those symptoms, he was ‘very intact’.

Doctors had previously been reluctant to use the technique previously because the risk of death was estimated to be around 8 per cent – however, improvements meant there is now just a 1 per cent risk of death attached.

Mr Leahy is now hoping to return to his studies in physics.

© 5r1 Limited 2009