Doctors Claim Success Using Stem Cell Therapy for Cerebral Palsy
21June2013
Doctors in Germany are reporting substantial success in using stem cell therapy to treat a child with cerebral palsy. According to the doctors, the boy had been left in a vegetative state after suffering a heart attack, but improved to the extent that he could actually begin to talk and move.
According to doctors at the Campus Clinic Gynecology in Germany, who carried out the new stem cell treatment, the parents were looking for alternative therapies for their child, who also suffered severe brain damage. They raised the possibility of using stem cells from the child’s cord blood to treat his condition. The parents had preserved the cord blood at the time of the child’s birth.
The cord blood was administered soon after the brain injury that contributed to the cerebral palsy. The brain damage occurred in October 2008. Just nine weeks after the brain damage, doctors administered the cord blood stem cells to the child intravenously.
The progress was monitored continuously over a period of two, five, 12, 24, 30 and 40 months after the brain injury. The doctors found that just two months after being administered the cord blood with stem cells, the condition of the boy improved dramatically. In the months since the cord blood was administered, he has begun to move and can now speak in simple sentences.
The alternative treatment raises hopes for other patients with cerebral palsy, although it is experimental and it remains to be seen whether it will be as effective for other patients.
The medical malpractice lawyers at Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC represent victims of medical negligence by doctors, nurses, technicians, and other medical personnel in Seattle and across Washington.
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