Stem Cell Transplantation For Spinal Cord Injury: A Promising Treatment

Spinal cord injury is the most difficult traumatic neurological condition that is caused due to primary injury to the spinal cord. This results in structural damage, including haemorrhage, demyelination, edema, and brain trauma. Cell treatment for spinal cord injury provides neuroprotective effects and neuroregeneration potential.

Types and Symptoms Of Spinal Cord Injury

Symptoms in each individual with spinal cord injury vary according to the area and the severity of the injury.  They are based on the type of injury, such as:

• Complete Injury: There is no movement or sensation below the site of injury
• Incomplete Injury: There is still some movement felt in areas below the point of injury

Symptoms of spinal cord injury also depend on the site that is injured. For instance:

• Injury to the neck (cervical): An individual with cervical injury experience sensory damage, loss of muscle strength in limbs and loss of sensation below the point of injury.
• Injury to the upper spinal cord (thoracic): This results in weak chest muscles and the individual may need a ventilator to breathe.
• Injury to the lower spinal cord (lumbar and sacral): An injury to this site can cause paralysis, loss of function in the lower limbs, loss of bladder and bowel control.

Stem Cells To Treat Spinal Cord Injury 

An injured spinal cord is difficult to repair through traditional managements as they are ineffective. Cell treatment for spinal cord injury involves mesenchymal stem cells sourced from the bone marrow and has the potential to differentiate into various cells, and also adopt the properties of the host cells. When infused into the body, they exert a therapeutic effect by differentiating into neurons to replace the damaged cells. They also secrete neurotrophic factors and prevent the damaging inflammatory response. The main therapeutic effects of stem cells include the astrocytes contribution to the glial scar, provide support and insulation to axons (oligodendrocyte), and repairing or replacing the missing nerve cells in spinal cord injury. These multipotent stem cells also secrete pro-regenerative factors to heal and protect the damaged tissue cells.

Cell treatment for spinal cord injury is done at NeuroGen BSI hospital based in Mumbai. They have treated over 8000 people with stem cells for various neurological disorders for which stem cells are promising applicants. Some of the incurable neurological disorders treated at NeuroGen are:

• Autism
• Stroke
• Dementia
• Head injury
• Muscular dystrophy
• Spinal cord injury
• Motor neuron disease  

The procedure of spinal cord injury cell treatment is safe and simple without having the patient to go under the knife. It just includes the extraction of the marrow from the patient’s hip bone, the separation of the stem cells from the marrow tissue and the final step is the infusion of the new stem cells in the spinal area.

When merged with the cerebrospinal fluid in the spinal area, the stem cells produce cytokines and growth factors that play an important role in promoting tissue regeneration. Based on the characteristics of stem cells, cell therapy is the most promising neuro-regenerative medicine for spinal cord injury.

Physiotherapy for Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a non-progressive disability which surfaces due to the damaged brain tissue during pregnancy, at birth or in early childhood stage. The injured brain tissue disrupts the nerve signals causing difficulty with activities such as movement, posture, and limb coordination. Cerebral palsy treatment in Mumbai’s Neurogen hospital depends on the extent of damage to any part of the brain.

Cerebral palsy is responsible for defects of vision and hearing; loss of speech or language skill; and lack of cognitive skill in individuals. Apart from this, they may also have:

• Various behavioral problems
• Learning problems and difficulties in communication
• Epilepsies or intellectual impairment
• Retarded development of language that affects speech
• Inability to perform certain actions such as movement of the limbs, face, eyes that restrict them from dressing, writing or drawing

Types of Cerebral Palsy

Based on the area of brain damage, cerebral palsy is categorized as:

• Spastic cerebral palsy 
•  Dyskinetic (athetoid) cerebral palsy  
• Ataxic cerebral palsy
• Hypotonic cerebral palsy
• Mixed cerebral palsy

Cerebral Palsy Management

Proper management of cerebral palsy requires various tests to determine the functional capacity of the individual. It also evaluates the nature and extent of its various deficit. The management is accomplished by:

• Paediatrician specialized in Neuro-developmental conditions
• Physiotherapist
• Occupational therapist

Treatment

Cerebral Palsy treatment in Mumbai is done by renowned neurosurgeons of Neurogen hospital. Treatment with the autologous bone marrow-derived stem cells present no side effects without or fear of immune rejection.  Stem cells have the capability to:

• Replace the damaged cells and prevent further cell death
• Establish a new neuron map in order to revive essential skills
• Create new blood vessels for providing fresh blood supply to the brain

The hospital proudly states to have treated more than1286 patient.

Physiotherapy for Cerebral Palsy

Post stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy physiotherapy set goal is aimed at promoting physical development and escalating mobility in individuals. At Neurogen hospital, the trained and experienced physiotherapists diagnose the problem to create a well-tailored treatment program according to the specific needs of each child. Physiotherapy treatment programs aim to restore function and minimize the dysfunction of cerebral palsy. This is achieved through a combination of manual therapy, exercises, and assistive devices.

Physiotherapy treatments offered at the hospital is aimed at:

• Increasing muscle strength
• Improve mobility
• Physical progress through exercises and play activities
• Ease muscles tightness and spasms through various programs and techniques
• To reduce abnormal patterns of movement
• Improve balance and mobility
• Reduce the risk of falls 

For cerebral palsy physiotherapy increases independence living and quality of life in individuals through proper management.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell For Stroke Treatment

A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain gets blocked due to blood clots or ruptured blood vessels. As the brain does not receive the needed oxygen and nutrients, the cells begin to die, hampering the body functionality. The best way to prevent stroke is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and immediate medical attention for treating underlying risk factors.

Symptoms

Few of the symptoms of stroke are:

• Headache accompanied, at times, with loss of consciousness
• Paralysis
• Difficulty while seeing in one or both the eyes
• Trouble speaking and understanding language
• Dizziness 
• Depression
• Pain in the limb that worsens with movement

The two main types of strokes are:

• Ischemic strokes caused by blocked and narrow arteries. 
• Hemorrhagic strokes caused by ruptured or bleeding arteries in the brain.

Stem cell-based approach is a tool for treating stroke with their therapeutic effect. The favorable effects of the autologous adult stem cells, such as neuroprotection, cell replacement, etc., along with their influence on inflammation and immune response have made them the safest and sought after treatment. For stroke cell treatment has shown high efficiency in managing the symptoms.

For stroke, stem cell treatment does not require any major operation. The adult stem cells derived from the patient’s own bone marrow (with an aspiration needle), are filtered and treated before being infused (intrathecally) back into the patient’s spinal area. With the help of the cerebrospinal fluid, they travel to the brain to induce growth factors within the damaged tissues. As the infused stem cells stimulate the damaged brain cells and induce restorative events, there is an improvement in the neurological functions. A marked functional improvement is observed in patients within days after cell treatment for stroke.

These positive effects of mesenchymal stem cells have prompted the neurosurgeons to accept them as an option for stroke treatment.

Rehabilitation

For a successful recovery after a cell treatment for stroke, the patient needs physical and emotional support to get over the trauma he/she experienced.  Therapies such as:

• Speech therapy: For communicating and language issues.  
• Physical therapy: To help the patient regain his/her limb coordination, balance, movement and to stay active.
• Occupational therapy: To develop the required abilities to carry out their daily activities, such as dressing, reading, eating, and writing.

Apart from the above-mentioned therapies, love and support from relatives and friends offer comfort to patients.

The best stem cell-based treatment is done by experienced neurosurgeons of Neurogen Brain and Spine Institute based in Mumbai. Patients from various countries come here to seek treatment for the neurological and muscular disorder. They have declared having successfully treated over 214 stroke patients and hence proved that cell treatment for stroke in India can help patients lead an independent and fulfilled life.  

Muscle Regeneration With Cell Therapy

Muscular dystrophy is a varied collection of neuromuscular disorders that result in progressive muscle weakening and wasting. The disorders differ depending on their severity and the muscle types affected. Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an X-linked genetic disorder, is a common form of muscular dystrophy.

Muscular dystrophy occurs due to spontaneous mutation or inherited mutation in the dystrophin gene which results in the loss of dystrophin protein. Dystrophin is an important cytoskeletal protein responsible for the maintenance of muscle cell stability or integrity. Without adequate dystrophin, muscle cells degenerate rendering the person helpless.

For satisfactory treatment, cell therapy for muscular dystrophy is done with autologous stem cells isolated from the patient’s bone marrow. To date, where many treatment methods have failed, stem cells with their multiple growth factors and healing potential, promote muscle regeneration. 

Cell treatment, for muscular dystrophy, has proved to be the best option to treat muscular dystrophy with success. To correct the dystrophic insufficiency, the transplanted stem cells merge with the host cells to form new myotubes. This fusion contributes to the production of functional dystrophin protein. Stem cell based therapy for muscular dystrophy is beneficial via autologous stem cell transfer strategy. For this process, the marrow is collected from the patient’s hip bone. The collected marrow tissue is filtered to separate the active stem cells. The collected stem cells are improved/treated to restore dystrophin expression and are subsequently re-implanted into the required muscle points of the patient.

Advantage Of Autologous Transplant

As autologous cell therapy for muscular dystrophy is done with stem cells derived from the patient, they are unlikely to elicit an adverse immune response. However, in an allogenic cell transplant, the patient risks immune rejection due to issues of donor compatibility.  

Neurogen Brain and Spine Institute based in Mumbai, offers the best cell treatment for muscular dystrophy and other neurological disorders such as autism, dementia, cerebral palsy and stroke. The neurosurgeons of the hospital state that 90% of improvement was seen in their patients after cell treatment.

Patients treated have shown improvement in their standing posture, trunk stability, and needed less support while walking. They exhibited an improved standing and walking balance and no more falling due to the buckling of knees. There was an increase in muscle strength of ankle muscles and the patient could climb up and down the stairs with ease and less support.