"It's magic." Those were the words of York great-grandmother Julia Brown who has multiple sclerosis (MS) and is experiencing an amazing improvement after "miracle" stem cell treatment.

Julia, 63, of Bishophill, York, was diagnosed with MS in 1973 when she was just 31.

Since then her condition has got progressively worse and she is now confined to a wheelchair.

But now she hopes to regain the use of legs that have not worked for seven years after going to have stem cell treatment in Holland because it is banned in Britain.

"It's a second chance, a new me," said Julia. "I don't know the words a miracle."

Since her treatment in May Julia has not had any problems with nerve endings once so painful they kept her in bed for three months.

She can now lift up her left arm that before she could only raise by supporting it with her other hand.

That means she can now brush her own hair and put on mascara things most people might take for granted, but which mean the world to someone with her condition.

She can also enjoy the sunshine previously a great discomfort causing her to feel sick and get painful swollen feet.

"I feel as though there's hope," she said.

"I'm more positive. I've got more energy to be positive. I feel as though there's something at the end of the tunnel instead of doom and gloom.

"If it's a placebo, I don't care."

The treatment involves injecting stem cells taken from the umbilical cord. Not available in Britain, anyone who wants it must apply to receive it at one of several clinics abroad.

Julia and her husband, Stuart, travelled to Holland in May where Julia was given injections in her scalp, spine and navel at a clinic in Rotterdam.

She spent four hours in the clinic for the treatment, which cost about £12,500 paid for by her mother.

Julia and Stuart described how they first noticed signs of improvement after only a week, on the ferry home back to Britain.

Instead of needing support when she sat up in bed after waking up, Julia was able to sit up by herself.

"I felt as though it was a miracle," she said.

Remarkable improvements followed bit by bit. Raising her left arm by herself, no more discomfort from tennis elbow, stronger arms so she could nearly raise herself out of her wheelchair.

Stuart said: "Instead of going to bed at night wondering what's going to fall off and wonder what will happen, Julia gets up each morning thinking what new will she be able to do it's a total new mindset."

Since having the treatment Julia has had to follow a strict de-tox diet.

The only meat she can currently eat is chicken or turkey.

Potatoes, grain, tomatoes, bananas, carrots, carbonised drinks, dairy products, e-numbers and, of course, cigarettes and alcohol are all banned.

Soon she will be allowed some foods again, like red meat.

The incredible improvements she has experienced have only taken two months and the treatment is said to provide results for up to a year.

Although Julia would love to walk again she hopes to at least stand up.

"I'd like to be able to walk, I would," she said. "My big thing at the moment is to be able to stand up, instead of sitting in one place, to be able to stand up and sit myself down.

"When I first looked into this, this was my ambition. If I don't walk, but if I can sit on another chair."

Now Stuart and Julia would like to see the treatment available for all those who need it on the NHS.

Stuart said: "It's terrible watching your own wife disappear all the time. I'm an engineer, I've devised things to keep her going all the time now I'm throwing things away!"

A Department for Health spokesman said: "This Government is investing £100 million in stem cell research over the next two years.

"Stem cell therapy/treatment has the potential to help a variety of serious degenerative diseases and researchers are involved in exploring these benefits.

"However, many of these stem cell treatments are still experimental and it is important that their safety and efficacy is established before they are available on the NHS.

"We would urge caution against seeking treatment or procedures that have not been subjected to rigorous clinical trials and assessment of safety and potential efficacy.

"Patients with multiple sclerosis are advised to speak to their consultant about their best treatment options."

Stem cell controversy

Stem cell treatment has generated much debate and controversy over the use of cells taken from human embryos.

Embryonic stem cell treatment has been criticised by pro-life campaigners and some religious groups, who say it is unethical and unnecessary.

Matthew O'Gorman, spokesman for the charity Life, said the group was in favour of stem cell research in general, but not where it involved embryo cells. He said: "Our opposition to embryonic stem cell treatment is that it results in the destruction of the human embryo, which we acknowledge to be a human being.

"Yet we are extremely positive about promoting adult stem cell research, which has produced cures for 60 diseases."

On treatment using umbilical cord cells, Mr O'Gorman said: "We completely support that. There's no criticism from us at all."

Peter Saunders, general secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), has said: "The CMF remains implacably opposed to embryo cloning because it cannibalises and destroys human embryos as a means to an end.

"Rather than pursuing unethical and unproven research in to embryos, the Government should be putting taxpayers' money into ethical research that will lead to us getting the most affordable cures for patients, more quickly."

Pioneering therapy

STEM cells are the body's "master cells", which can be turned into one of many different tissue types.

The cells can be taken from adults or children, as well as from the placenta and umbilical cords. They can also come from embryos removed early in pregnancy.

Scientists say stem cells enable diseased or damaged body tissues to be repaired and replaced, and say they can help create treatments for dozens of illnesses including cancer, Parkinson's Disease and spinal injuries.

In November 2004, a team of Korean researchers reported that they had injected stem cells from umbilical cord blood into a patient suffering from a spinal cord injury.

The woman had been unable to stand for 19 years, but was able to walk again following the treatment. In a separate test, researchers at the University of California injected stem cells from aborted human foetuses into paralysed mice, which resulted in the mice regaining the ability to move and walk four months later.