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Post-Anoxic Encephalopathy Female, 23 years old, Jul – Aug 2019

Summary

Diagnosis Sex Age Nationality
Cerebral Palsy Female 23 years French
Injections Cell type Admission date Discharge date
6 UCBSC 2019-07-13 2019-08-05

Medical history

In October 2009, the patient had ventricular fibrillation with cardiopulmonary arrest. MRI scan examination after the accident confirmed the diagnosis of post-anoxic encephalopathy. A defibrillator was installed as a safety precaution. Physiotherapy and speech therapy have had their effects for 9 years, but progress was minimal.

Condition On Admission

Before starting stem cell treatment the patient had secondary dystonia. She had walking difficulties and needed assistance. Most of the time she was moving around in a wheelchair. Eating was difficult because of high tension in the jaws. Food supplements were given to her at night thanks to a gastric tube. She had a hard time speaking as well because of tensions in the oral zone.

Treatment Schedule

Patient received 6 umbilical cord blood-derived stem cell (UCBSC) packets by intravenous (IV) injection and intrathecal way. In addition to the stem cell administrations, the patient also received a daily rehabilitation program that included physiotherapy, occupational therapy, aquatherapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, acupuncture and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Number Date Cell Type Delivery Method Side Effects
1 2019-07-16 UCBSC Intravenous Injection None
2 2019-07-19 UCBSC Intrathecal Injection None
3 2019-07-22 UCBSC Intrathecal Injection None
4 2019-07-16 UCBSC Intrathecal Injection None
5 2019-07-30 UCBSC Intrathecal Injection None
6 2019-08-02 UCBSC Intravenous Injection None

Condition 1 month after treatment

The patient’s parents mention a moderate improvement in quality of life and improvements are continually being made. They mention that the patient is less stiff, she can hold her head better and is more motivated for her physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions. Please see an excerpt from the patient parent’s 1 month assessment below:

Appetite

Small improvement

Balance

Moderate improvement

Breathing

Small improvement

Cooperation with others

Moderate improvement

Crawling

Moderate improvement

Drooling

Small improvement

Energy

Small improvement

Fine motor control

Moderate improvement

General mental ability

Small improvement

Hand control

Moderate improvement

Hyperactivity

Moderate improvement

Interaction with others

Moderate improvement

Limb muscle strength

Moderate improvement

Movement in general

Moderate improvement

Overall strength

Moderate improvement

Range of movement

Significant improvement

Reading

Small improvement

Seizures

Small improvement

Spasticity

Moderate improvement

Speech

Moderate improvement

Standing up

Significant improvement

Swallowing

Small improvement

Trunk control

Moderate improvement

Trunk muscle strength

Small improvement

Vision

Small improvement

Walking

Moderate improvement

Writing

Small improvement

References

  1. Intravenous grafts recapitulate the neurorestoration afforded by intracerebrally delivered multipotent adult progenitor cells in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic rats
  2. Umbilical cord blood cells and brain stroke injury: bringing in fresh blood to address an old problem
  3. Marrow stromal cells migrate throughout forebrain and cerebellum, and they differentiate into astrocytes after injection into neonatal mouse brains
  4. Human cord blood transplantation in a neonatal rat model of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage: functional outcome related to neuroprotection in the striatum
  5. Li Huang, Che Zhang et al (2018). A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Human Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cell Infusion for Children With Cerebral Palsy. Cell Transplantation (2018) Vol. 27(2) 325-334
  6. F. Ramirez, ET AL. Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Therapy for Cerebral Palsy. Med Hypotheses RES 2006.3: 679-686.
  7. James E Carroll & Robert W Mays. Update on stem cell therapy for cerebral palsy. Expert Opin. Biol. Ther. (2011) 11.
  8. David T. Harris. Cord Blood Stem Cells: A Review of Potential Neurological Applications. Stem Cell Rev (2008) 4:269–274.