Cerebral Palsy Treated with Cord Blood Stem Cells
For the thousands of families every year who learn that their infant has cerebral palsy (CP), the diagnosis can be devastating news. According to the CDC, about 100,000 babies in the US alone are affected each year by cerebral palsy. In most children, CP causes not only physical, but mental impairments. Treatments in the past have centered on managing the challenges of the disorder. That could be changing as more children with cerebral palsy are being treated cord blood.
Now treatment uses Stem Cells from Cord Blood
Medical researchers are finding amazing results when cerebral palsy is treated with cord blood. Infants and children diagnosed with CP who have received stem cells from their own cord blood are participating in clinical trials at Duke. Parents, therapists and researchers are observing dramatic improvements in the motor and speech skills of the children with CP, in some cases within a few days of being treated with their own cord blood extracted at birth.
Working of stem cells in cerebral palsy
Stem cells are “undifferentiated” in that they have the incredible ability to specialize and become any other type of cell in the body. When cerebral palsy occurs, the brain cells become damaged from birth up through the age of two. It is possible that the stem cells regenerate into healthy brain cells, thereby helping to improve the functioning of the child with CP.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
