Treating cerebral palsy and brain injury with cord blood-derived stem cells

The effectiveness of UCB in the treatment of brain injuries was first reported in 2010 by Dr Kurtzberg. The headlines that followed “Umbilical Cord Blood takes medical strides forward in treatment of cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), drowning and autism spectrum disorder.”

Some of these injuries can often occur in preterm babies.

Due to the encouraging and compelling results achieved in the 2014 phase 1 trial, her group was awarded $15 million to further explore the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells to treat autism, stroke, cerebral palsy and related brain disorders. The next phase 2 study of autologous UCB infusions in sixty-three children between the ages of one year and six years who had cerebral palsy caused by brain damage incurred before or at birth, had similar positive results to those generated during the first trial. Positive results were obtained with a minimum dose of twenty-five million cells per kilogram of body weight. In her own words: Dr Joanne Kurtzberg said: “Some children, who were not speaking very much, had big increases in their vocabulary and their functional speech. Many children were able to play and have meaningful communication in a way that they weren’t able to before. Some children had less repetitive behaviours than they did when they came onto the study.

Therefore, to highlight the wonder of UCB stem cell treatment, we wish to highlight a few case studies involving brain injury. The first involves a 13-year-old girl, Sofia from Ukraine. Her parents were expecting their next baby and whilst enjoying an outing Sofia fell through the ice and was not breathing for more than half an hour. She went into a coma and resulting convulsions. She was diagnosed with HIE and central nervous system injury. She was given a UCB transplant and her conditioned improved. Her convulsions disappeared and after rehabilitation treatment Sofia now leads an ordinary life, thanks to cord blood from her baby sister.

The second case involves a near-drowning accident, when Samantha was found face-down in a pool as a toddler. She was in a coma, she could not walk, talk, or feed herself. She then became part of the Kurtzberg trial, using her sister Allison’s stem cells that her parents had saved previously. She has shown significant improvement. There are various other testimonials available on the internet showing the value of cord stem cells in the treatment of similar injuries.

In 2017 the United States had approved an expanded access protocol for banked autologous (a person’s own) or sibling umbilical cord blood (CB) for children with various brain disorders.

Banking cord blood for later use in a child or a sibling, is redefining clinical recovery that was previously thought impossible, thanks to Kurtzberg’s work. Patients with brain injury will directly feel the positive effect of what a “bag of cord blood stem cells” could provide for, in the future. The potential is overwhelming.

Fast track to 2020; further studies in this field are showing even better results. A research group in Australia showed that multiple doses of umbilical cord blood, rather than a single treatment, could help improve brain injury in babies starved of oxygen during pregnancy or birth. They compared long term outcomes of a single dose versus multiple doses of UCB stem cell therapy and the multiple doses significantly improved behaviour and long-term injury to the brain. The main researcher stated: “In this case, it is a bit like eating one apple a day – it is not going to keep the doctor away. While a single dose of umbilical cord blood stem cells may not be effective in the long-term, multiple doses over time could protect the brain from long-term damage.”

Providing families with cord blood derived options that can improve and save lives is having a worldwide impact.