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CEREBRAL PALSY (CP)
Why stem cell therapy is an effective treatment for cerebral palsy?
Few conventional treatment options are available for patients diagnosed with cerebral palsy, which mostly focus on helping the patients to cope with their disability. However, no conventional approach can treat the loss of neurological function caused by the original cerebral injury. Stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy (CP) has the ability to regenerate and repair damaged cells in the brain, helping to reverse the symptoms and allowing cerebral palsy patients to improve.
How does it work?
Stem cells are responsible for differentiating into new cells when old ones die or are injured. They are able to become skin, blood, muscle, bone, and more. One of the cells they can become are neurons in the brain. This creation of new cells is the source of healing, regrowth, and continued life. A stem cell treatment (injecting concentrated and potent stem cells into the body) is able to stimulate the body’s regenerative functions. This provides an extra boost and helps repairing damaged brain cells as well as creating new cells that the body needs. For neurological conditions, the most important area to send stem cells to is the brain, where they can help build new neurons for proper brain functions.
The potential mechanisms of stem cell transplantation are:
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reducing the inflammation response, avoiding secondary brain lesion
differentiating into astrocyte, microglia, oligodendrocyte, neuronland glia cells, which may be good for myeline sheath, axon regeneration, transmission of nerve impulse
producing the cytonkines and growth factors, such as glia derived neurotrohic factor (GDNF), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrohin 3 (NT-3), neurotrohin 4/5 (NT 4/5), that support brain neuroprotection
generating new vessels growth, thereby increasing the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to injured and hypoxic tissue; and
reducing the intrinsic cell apoptosis.
Stem cell therapy for Cerebral Palsy
There have been many studies done on cell therapies for cerebral palsy, and clinical trials have shown that stem cells have been effective in improving CP symptoms. One of the most impressive studies to date on stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy is from Duke University in the United States. Duke conducted a randomized study of 63 CP children with different varieties and severities of spastic cerebral palsy. The children’s parents had placed their child’s cord blood stem cells in a blood bank after birth, and after the children were treated with their own cord blood cells, they were shown to see improvements in their motor function just a year later. These improvements were better than those of other CP children of similar age and condition, and better than those that were given fewer stem cells or none at all. One of these children’s stories can be found here. Senior author of the study Joanne Kurtzberg, M.D., is the director of Duke’s Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and the Robertson Clinical and Translational Therapy Program. She strongly believes in stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy, saying, “previous research has indicated it’s safe for children with cerebral palsy to receive an infusion of their own cord blood.
Potential improvements after the treatment
The purpose of the treatment is to promote healing of the original spinal cord/brain injury in order to restore neurological function. Thus, various kinds of improvement are possible after our treatment. The majority of Cerebral Palsy patients that have been treated by Beike, utilizing the combination of stem cell therapy and rehabilitation, showed visible signs of improvements, especially for these symptoms:
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Spasticity
Range of movement
Speech
Walking
Balance
Swallowing
Learning
Mood disorder
Head control
Drooling and appetite
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