April 2009
Main source material
http://www.returninghope.com/patients-testimonials/stem-cell-tratment-cerebral-palsy.html
For many, stem cell therapy and adult stem cell cures still lie in the realms of ethical debate, or the realms of science fiction, with the few tidbits that the mainstream media throws out. But for some, the results of these amazing treatments have changed their day to day lives. We examine the personal story of two patients who underwent stem cell transplants for cerebral palsy.
"You just wish you could fix it, and take it away, but you can't...", said Cynthia Hextell, the mother of Dallas Hextell, one of the first US patients to undergo stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy. "He didn't open his eyes a lot, he cried constantly - they kept saying it was colic ... At 8 months I got a referral to a neurologist", said Cynthia, and following this Dallas was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Dallas didn't have the options that many stem cell patients have - autologous therapy with adult stem cells for stroke recovery or Parkinsons is possible, even at low cost, with providers like those offering stem cell therapies in Thailand. At such a young age, Dallas didn’t have that option - but luckily the Hextells had saved Dallas's cord blood as a 'just in case' decision at the time of his birth.
"You can tell that he's frsurtated - his mind is healthy, and he want to be able to do those things physically, but he just can't", said his mother about the condition. His physical development at 18 months old was closer to an 8 month old - not uncommon with cerebral palsy. "He doesn't crawl, he has no speech at all, so he doesn't say Mama, or Dada...". In a procedure taking less than an hour, Dallas's own stem cells were infused back into his body, where tests have revealed that they travel to damaged areas of the brain to heal it. Dallas can now wave, crawl, and, according to his parents, is much more attentive, happy and interactive.
At older ages, stem cells can be more easily harvested directly from the body. In some cases, they can be taken from bone marrow, but in most cases, Thailand stem cell therapy providers harvest them from fat in the abdomen. However, it is so beneficial to have the treatment with cord blood cells at an early age, and the improvements in infants are often so profound, that we are looking at another infant case of autologous stem cell transplant for cerebral palsy.
"He can't crawl or walk, he has very low trunk control ... and his speech is very delayed, though he's been doing a lot better lately", said Lisa Boles, mother of Konnor Boles, who underwent stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy. The damage to Konnor's brain occurred at birth. The event was traumatic, and an emergency C-section had to be performed - about 5% of all cerebral palsy patients developed the condition at birth, with up to 75% developing it during pregnancy. Konnor couldn't sit up by himself, and mostly got around by rolling or commando crawling.
Only five weeks after his stem cell therapy, "he is now able to pull himself up, which he could never do", said his mother Lisa. "That and his speech - his vocabulary has grown since we've been here, but not just that, the clarity of what he's saying is drastically improved". Just like Dallas Hextell's, Konnor's stem cell transplant with cord blood cells has meant that some of the damage to his brain that occurred ta birth has been repaired, by his own cells.
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