Selma Blair shares emotional multiple sclerosis prognosis—'I'm in remission'

Selma Blair has shared an encouraging update on her multiple sclerosis journey, revealing she has entered remission from the life-changing condition.  

The Legally Blonde star, who was first diagnosed with MS in August 2018, opted to fight the autoimmune disease with "aggressive" chemotherapy and a stem-cell transplant, after a year of severe pain and restricted mobility. The intensive treatment appears to have been successful, and Selma is now on the road to recovery. 

Speaking virtually at the discovery+ TCA panel in promotion of her upcoming documentary, Introducing Selma Blair, the Cruel Intentions actor said, "My prognosis is great. I'm in remission. Stem cell put me in remission." 

The uplifting news comes just a few days after fellow actor Christina Applegate revealed she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a few months ago, prompting Selma to quickly offer support to her Hollywood friend. "Loving you always. Always here. As are our kids. Beating us up with love," she responded. 

Selma's positive treatment results will hopefully give Christina, and others suffering from the often debilitating disease, some hope for the future. After a lengthy and laborious process, the mom-of-one is finally getting back to her old self. 

"It took about a year after stem cell for the inflammation and lesions to really go down," she said. Selma went on to reveal that she hesitated to speak openly about her progress, feeling like she wasn't recovered enough to go public with the news. 

"I was reluctant to talk about it because I felt this need to be more healed and more fixed," she said. 

Selma also wants to emphasize that there is no universal experience of multiple sclerosis and that her journey is likely to differ from others. "I've accrued a lifetime of some baggage in the brain that still needs a little sorting out or accepting," she said. "That took me a minute to get to that acceptance. It doesn't look like this for everyone."

What is multiple sclerosis? 

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that affects the functioning of the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve. The immune system attacks the nerve fibers, obstructing communication between the brain and the rest of the body. Permanent damage of severe deterioration of the nerves may result from this process, leaving the sufferer with potentially life-changing disabilities. 

Symptoms include: 

Can you go into remission from multiple sclerosis? 

When an individual is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, they may experience intense flare-ups, where their symptoms are severe for longer than 24 hours. After these flare-ups, their bodies enter a state of recovery, also known as remission. In some cases, this remission stage can last several months. This kind of MS is referred to as relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and is the most common type to afflict people in their 20s and 30s. 

Doctors may maximize the patient's remission stage by creating a customized treatment plan. Certain drugs, including injectable, oral, and infusion medications, can reduce milder MS symptoms. However, severe relapses—especially those which hinder the patient's mobility and vision—may require the prescription of steroids.

Chemotherapy drugs, which kill the white blood cells attacking the immune system in MS, are also sometimes used. They can slow down the acceleration of MS, in the best case, halt disease activity altogether.