Stem Cell Therapy for Autism

The Brief on Autism

Autism is a nightmare that no parent wishes to see their young ones go through. This developmental disorder characterizes social interaction and communication difficulty by restricted and repetitive behaviours.

The signs are majorly evident in the first 3 years of childhood and many children develop worsening cases of poor communication and social skills after attaining the developmental stages.

The disorder is associated with a combination of environmental and genetic factors. The risk factors among expectant women are rubella, toxins such as valproic acid, pesticides, air pollution fetal growth restriction and autoimmune diseases.

These and many more predisposing factors may make you relent on the lifestyle you adopted with the young ones in your womb. The patterns of life disallow us to make our own choices and the dazzling child you birthed is just a victim of the face of horror.

While cognitive autism research is primarily focused on children and young adults, the disorder is lifelong and the effects can be adverse. Among both adults and the young with autism, there is a broad range of cognitive deficits.

Hope in Dealing with Autism

Autism does not have to define anyone; autistic artists, just like everyone else define themselves through their hard work and individuality.

Inside every person, there is a strength and tenacity to survive. This strength is often not realized until you go through dark times. You become a survivor, courageous and strong in spirit through the knowledge of your inner strength and the belief that one day at a time you will get over this.

Autism is manageable and, needless to say, there is always something in the scientific laboratories, some people who spend sleepless nights and hours to delve into the deeper know-how of averting your condition. To this very moment, the outcome is great and is enough to bring an array of hope – stem cell therapy is the new model used by medical practitioners to manage autism.

How Stem Cell Therapy for Autism Work

Autism is manageable using stem cell therapy due to evidence that some types of stem cells intravenously administered improve the overall regulation of the immune system and the brain’s neural connectivity.

Based on laboratory studies and clinical trials for other medical conditions, Mesenchymal Stem/Stroma Cells are the most commonly used cell types in the treatment of autoimmune disorders and inflammation according to Parents Guide on Cord Blood. The main sources of MSC during clinical trials are the bone marrow tissues, fat tissues, and umbilical cord tissues. The MSC is considered immune-privileged as it is not considered foreign and does not trigger a patient’s immune system.

Stem cell therapy aims to regenerate or replace cells affected by disorders and it is achieved by isolating them from the umbilical cord Wharton Jelly and turning them into the desired cells in a laboratory before administering them into the patients.

Alternatively, with the hope that the tissues dictate the fate of stem cells as they are immune privileged, the stem cells can be transplanted without differentiating them outside of the body of the patient. According to Bio-Informant, replacing malfunctioning gut cells with healthy ones reduces the recurrence of the autistic condition as the stem cells indefinitely replicate. The physicians harvest stem cells from the patient (autologous) or acquire them from another patient or a blood bank (allogenic).

The Stem cells are prepared by separating the meaningful cells and combining them with hormones and necessary growth factors. The prepared stem cells are then infused into the patient. In many cases, the patient requires multiple stem cell doses at high levels to be effective; the patient is then monitored henceforth to note the improvements.

Research Backup and Viability

Medical practitioners aiming to highlight the ability of the umbilical cord in significantly impacting both the structure and function of the brain after transfusion demonstrated that the umbilical cord blood has potential effects in decreasing neural inflammation associated with autism due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

This, as the medical researchers affirm, is attributed to the high levels of effector cells and high volumes of mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells which suppresses inflammation thus altering the connectivity of the brain.

The decreased inflammation in the brain significantly reduces the effects of stereotypical autistic behaviours. Besides, the umbilical cord blood has been proven to foster the brains’ structural development connectivity of the neural networks which had been disrupted by autism before the treatment.

The cord blood transfusion to autistic patients helps in strengthening the connectivity of the neural networks in different brain regions which proved substantial in improving the communication skills and reduced autistic symptoms among the participants.

The success of stem cell therapy relies on the knowledge of the affected cell type and tissue and the correct application of the right stem adult cell type commonly known as pluripotent cells. Hope is one factor every parent holds onto as their young one goes through such therapeutic operation; one thing to note is that the young have higher chances of surviving compared to adults as highlighted by the Umass Medical School.

The researchers revealed that marrow in the management of autism stem cells from the umbilical cord are more potent than those harvested from the bone.

The Benefits of Umbilical Cord Stem Cells for Autism

  • The immune privilege of mesenchymal stem cells eliminates the fears of cell rejection making Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) matching unnecessary.
  • Easy screening and selection of stem cells with the best anti-inflammatory, regeneration stimulation and immune-modulatory capacity.
  • The therapy allows for the effective administration of multiple stem cells over the course of days in uniform dosages with higher cell counts.
  • There is an abundant supply of mesenchymal stem cells in the umbilical cord tissues.
  • Collecting the stem cells from the hip bone or fat under anaesthesia is avoided since it is unpleasant for the young.

We Care

As a medical community, we have seen the promise that stem cells are offering in managing a variety of conditions, we have therefore come up with studies and trials that are effective in managing the condition.

StemFinityCord offers stem cell treatment services for children and adults with autism.

We aim at improving the lives that bear least of hope. We are here to support you in every way possible as a patient to achieve normality and a parent or guardian to get the best of your loved one’s life in the social norm.

References
  • Rogers SJ, Vismara LA. (2008). Evidence-based comprehensive treatments for early autism. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. 37(1):8–38.

  • D.A.Rossignol,(2009).“Novel and emerging treatments for autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review,” Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 213–236.

  • Riordan RH, Hincapié ML, Morales I, Fernández G, Allen N, Leu C, Madrigal M, Rodríguez JP, Novarro N. (2019). Allogeneic Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children: Safety Profile and Effect on Cytokine Levels. Stem Cells Translational Medicine.