Cerebral Palsy Can’t Be Cured—or Can It?
Recent research from Duke University on umbilical cord stem research might prove promising for parents with children suffering from cerebral palsy.
Professor of pediatrics and pathology Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, in an experimental study, infused children with the blood stem cells from their own cords to help heal and repair damaged areas of the child’s brain.
The work Kurtzberg is doing is leading many researchers to believe that infusing of cord blood stem cells could alleviate the damage to the brain tissue, reduce spasms in the muscles, improve the gait of children suffering from cerebral palsy and other mobility related problems
Over twenty children have been part of the program—and results have been excellent. One of the best known cases involves a little girl named Chloe Levine.
Girl’s Cerebral Palsy Reversed by Cord Blood
When she was nine-months old, Chloe’s parents noticed that she couldn’t hold a bottle in her right hand. But that was just the beginning of her problems.
Eventually the Levines noticed that Chloe couldn’t crawl or raise her hands above her head. That’s when her parents took her to see a neurologist.
The neurologist ran Chloe through a CAT scan and discovered that the left side of her brain was underdeveloped and contained fluid. He diagnosed Chloe with cerebral palsy.
Not surprising, the diagnosis rocked the Levine’s world. And in their search for answers they stumbled across Dr. Kurtberg’s work at Duke University.
Even though the study was touted as experimental, the Levine’s decided to enlist Chloe. Fortunately they had banked her cord blood when she was born.
Common Cerebral Palsy Symptoms
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that appears in infancy or early childhood, usually before the age of three.
Cerebral palsy symptoms can range from minor to major, which include:
- Stiff or floppy muscle tone
- Exaggerated muscle reflexes
- Limp leg or foot
- Toe walking
- Crouched gait
- Scissor gait
Over 500,000 children in the United States suffer from cerebral palsy. In a small number of children cerebral palsy is caused by brain injury in the first few years of life, brain infections like meningitis or viral encephalitis and sometimes from head injuries from a motor vehicle accident, child abuse or fall.
Because cerebral palsy is not a progressive disease, the condition does not get worse over time. In fact, with the right care children with cerebral palsy can reach their full potential.
Dr. Krutzberg’s work is actually making that more of a reality than ever before.
Benefits of Stem Cell Research
Just two months after Chloe’s cord blood infusion her conditions improved dramatically. Her therapist said she’d made a 50% recovery. Her father said, “she could walk, run and do sign language with her right hand.”
This treatment, however, could not have been possible without the banked cord blood. The average price to store cord blood is about $2,000, but experts expect that number to drop as more and more people see the scientific value of stem cell application.