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Neurological Solutions

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a chronic non-progressive disorder, manifesting with spastic paralysis often in combination with epileptic seizures and/or mental impairment, caused by damage to the frontal cortical area of the developing brain, mostly during pregnancy. At the moment there is no cure for Cerebral Palsy. Based on recent findings, treatment with adult Autologous Stem Cells derived from bone marrow seems to be a promising therapy to improve the condition of the patients suffering from Cerebral Palsy. The objective of the treatment is to repair the injured cell area around the lesion. This will lead to improved symptoms mainly in physique and movements.

Autism

Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. There is no known single cause but abnormalities in brain function are generally attributed to environmental, immunological and neurological factors. Children with autism have shown impaired blood flow or hypoperfusion to the brain. Hypoperfusion may contribute to functional defects not only by inducing hypoxia but also by allowing for abnormal metabolite or neurotransmitter accumulation. Hypothetically, if perfusion can be improved through the revitalization of blood vessels, then this should also allow for metabolite clearance and restoration of functionality. The administration of stem cells are proposed as novel treatments for the two pathologies associated with autism – hypoperfusion to the brain and immune dysregulation. Stem cells may potentially heal both the brain and the gut.

Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s is a complex, fatal disease involving progressive cell degeneration, beginning with the loss of brain cells that control thought, memory and language. It has long been recognized that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients present an irreversible decline of cognitive functions as consequence of cell deterioration in a structure called nucleus basalis of Meynert The reduction of the number of cholinergic cells causes interference in several aspects of behavioral performance including arousal, attention, learning and emotion. It is also common knowledge that AD is an untreatable degenerative disease with very few temporary and palliative drug therapies. Stem cells present a potential and innovative strategy for the treatment of many disorders of the central nervous system including AD, with the possibility of providing a more permanent remedy than present drug treatments. After grafting, these cells have the capacity to migrate to lesioned regions of the brain and differentiate into the necessary type of cells that are lacking in the diseased brain, supplying it with the cell population needed to promote recovery.

Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson's disease occurs as a result of a gradual loss of a specific type of nerve cell, located in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. These nerve cells produce a natural chemical called dopamine (they are called dopaminergic neurons). The lack of dopamine makes patients with Parkinson’s disease have difficulty in moving freely, holding a posture, talking and writing. Because a single, well-identified type of cell is affected in Parkinson’s disease, stem cells offer great potential for treatment. The basis for stem cell treatment would be to replace the cells that have died with other identical dopaminergic neurons.

Stroke

During and after a stroke, certain cellular events take place that lead to the death of brain cells. Stem cell transplantation improves recovery from ischemic stroke. Researchers have examined the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of cell therapy using culture-expanded autologous MSCs in patients with ischemic stroke. Serial evaluations showed no adverse cell-related, serological, or imaging-defined effects. In patients with severe cerebral infarcts, the intravenous infusion of autologous MSCs appears to be a feasible and safe therapy that may improve functional recovery. Early intravenous stem cell injection displayed anti-inflammatory functionality that promoted neuroprotection, mainly by interrupting splenic inflammatory responses after intra cranial Haemorrage.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Previously there were no effective treatments for ALS, which is almost always fatal within three to five years of diagnosis. Patients gradually experience progressive muscle weakness and paralysis as the motor neurons that control muscles are destroyed by the disease. MSCs represent a good chance for stem cell cell-based therapy in ALS and that intraspinal injection of MSCs is safe also in the long term