Is This a Breakthrough for Progressive MS?

Neurogenesis approach challenges immunosuppression

My first MS attack arrived in the hot Australian summer of 1998.

I remember the tight bands. The electrical corset. The pins and needles that wouldn’t go away.

When the diagnosis finally came, I was surprised by the suggested next step.

An immunosuppressant?

I wasn’t being difficult. I was a young military officer, used to following instructions. But I was curious.

“Why would I suppress my immune system?”

Immunosuppressants dampen the immune system. I wanted mine to be as strong as possible. Not shut down.

There wasn’t a satisfying answer at the time. Just the sense that this was the best tool available—and that was that.

So I went away to decide which immunosuppressant I’d start taking.

Instead, I thought about food. Exercise. About stress. Trauma, Tried to piece the puzzle together. And I ended up deciding not to choose any of them.

I’ve never regretted that call.

Fast forward a few decades, my overarching view hasn’t really changed. Immunosuppressants are a bludgeon tool. Yet, I’m taking one. And it works. With no noticable side effects.

I still believe in a lifestyle-first approach—supporting the body, not working against it.

I don’t normally talk about medications. I talk about lifestyle and behaviour to support the best life with MS.

But recently, I came across something that made me pause.

For the first time, it felt like a treatment approach that wasn’t trying to suppress the system, but work with it.

A case that’s getting attention

A recent case study has raised eyebrows in a field where breakthroughs are rare—particularly for Primary Progressive MS (PPMS). This form of multiple sclerosis steadily worsens and responds poorly to most treatments.

It describes the case of Michael, a 32-year-old man with early PPMS. He presented with clear signs of active disease. There were autoimmune markers in his blood and a visible lesion in his cervical spinal cord.

Neurogenesis means growing and repairing brain and nerve cells.

Following a new neurogenesis-based intervention:

• Michael’s autoimmune markers shifted from positive to negative
• Follow-up imaging suggested the spinal lesion had moved into an inactive state
• and Michael was classified as having no evidence of disease activity

All without ongoing immunosuppressive therapy.

I celebrate this case. I think it’s fantastic news. But. It’s one single case. That means it’s not proof.

A different way of thinking about MS treatment

For years, I’ve thought about my own relapsing-remitting MS treatment like this:

Immunosuppression is like raising interest rates to control inflation.

It’s a sledgehammer approach that works. Eventually.

But it comes at a cost.

There’s collateral damage. And fundamentally, you’re managing the problem—not fixing it. If MS is a case of mistaken identity, it doesn’t address the root problem at all.

Most high-efficacy MS therapies follow this model:

• suppress or deplete parts of the immune system e.g. CD20 B-cells
• reduce new inflammatory activity
• slow disease progression

And they’ve changed lives. No question. I’m grateful to be on Kesimpta (for the time being).

But they don’t typically repair existing damage. And in progressive MS, that slow, smouldering damage inside the brain is the real challenge.

So what’s different here?

This neurogenesis protocol takes a very different approach.

Instead of suppressing the immune system, it aims to:

• rebalance it
• calm the inflammatory environment inside the brain and spinal cord
• and importantly—support repair

It does this by delivering a combination of:

• multipotent (stem-like) cells
• growth factors
• immune signalling molecules (cytokines)

Directly into the central nervous system—bypassing the usual barriers that limit most treatments.

The goal isn’t just to stop damage.

It’s to shift the system into a state where repair becomes possible.

The overlap with lifestyle (and why it matters)

The Michael case used a new protocol built on three key principles:

1. Calm and rebalance the immune system

Not destroy it—shift it

Lifestyle does this too:

• whole food, plant-based diets
• regular movement
• stress regulation

All influence inflammatory signalling in measurable ways.

2. Support brain repair and resilience

The protocol aims to promote remyelination and neuronal protection.

Lifestyle contributes here as well:

• Exercise is my secret weapon. It increases brain growth factors (BDNF) as well as the precursor cells for remyelination (OPCs)
• Sleep cleans the brain, supports repair and clears waste
• Nutrition is my food medicine. It’s foundational. No drug can do what food can. You simply cannot get adequate nutrition if you survive on ultraprocessed products.

3. Help the brain stabilise and adapt

Recovery in the study wasn’t linear. There were ups and downs, steps forward and steps backwards. Rehabilitation was an essential part of Michael’s story. Rehab is the gruelling work.

Same story with lifestyle.

So where does this leave us?

Let’s be clear.

This is:

• one case
• not yet widely replicated
• not peer-reviewed yet
• not standard clinical practice

But conceptually? It’s exciting, albeit invasive and expensive.

This kind of approach points to a future where:

• the immune system is guided, not suppressed
• the brain is supported to repair, not just protected from further harm
• and treatment may not always mean lifelong medication

In fact, it seems like medications are becoming more aligned with the lifestyle-first approach that many of us know makes all the difference.

Final thought

I celebrate that Michael achieved NEDA (no evidence of disease activity) within around 9 months. I also achieved no evidence of disease activity, the holy grail of MS, without any medications at the time.

Maybe that was luck. Maybe that was lifestyle. Maybe it was both.

Maybe the future of MS isn’t just stronger drugs.

Maybe it’s smarter repair using our biological power.

I take a lifestyle-first approach, and hedge my bets with medical therapies when needed.

If you want to learn more about the non-invasive protocol I (and others) follow, subscribe for free and join the collective.

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Early findings are encouraging, but this is still an emerging space—so curiosity is wise, and caution is too.

This is not medical advice. I’m not a doctor or specialist. Speak to your MS team about advice that’s right for you.