Stem Cells and Brain Damage

Stem cells. We hear about them all the time. Seems like there is always something new about stem cells and how truly amazing they can be, and this blog is here to prove it.

If you want to find out about how stem cells helped treat a young girl’s brain injury, keep reading.

Success Story 

We promise this story has a happy ending, so stick with it.

Our story is about Senna. Born in Holland, shortly after her birth she suffered a stroke. A brief blockage in one of the major arteries to her brain was briefly blocked leading to a lack of blood and oxygen. As a result, she suffered damage to the left side of her brain.

Her parents, Sebastian, and Suzanne were told Senna may not walk unaided.

Enter an experimental stem cell treatment. Senna was one of ten babies who took part in the trial run of this game-changing therapy. For Senna, it completely transformed her outlook.

12 years of research that had been done on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were to be put into practice. They just had to figure out how best to administer the treatment. If the treatment was delivered via injection, it would have taken too long for the cells to reach the brain and they would have more likely ended up in other organs. It was decided that the treatment was to be done via nasal drops.

The nasal cavity being so close to the brain with only one bone in-between them, the drops would have a much better chance of reaching their desired destination. The stem cells reached the damage, and these then encouraged the baby’s own stem cells to get to work to repair the injury and develop tissue.

Today, Senna is a happy, healthy and energetic 18month old and able to run and walk just like any other toddler.

See, we told you it was a good ending. The full story can be read here.

Some More Good News

For the other children involved in the treatment trial alongside Senna, there were some equally promising results.

During the treatment itself, only one baby developed a mild fever but other than that there were seemingly no other obvious side effects.

At 3 months all the children received a follow-up MRI. In every case, the area that had been damaged by stroke had reduced in size. For Senna in particular the doctors struggled to relocate the area.

By 4 months all the babies were showing better movement than expected and a full year on all the babies, despite three having some weakness on one side, were able to walk.

This treatment offers hope to young babies suffering from injuries similar to Senna.

Store your Baby’s Stem Cells 

Stem cell treatments often require a donor and it can take time to find a match. Storing your baby’s stem cells gives your child access to a 100% stem cell match. Should your baby suffer a brain injury and need treatment, their stem cells are there to be used.  

But it isn’t just brain injuries. Stem cells from cord blood and cord tissue have been used to treat leukaemia and other blood disorders as well as diabetes and overall, 80 health issues worldwide.

If you are curious about storing your baby’s stem cells with us at Cells4Life, order a welcome pack today.

Baby Insight 

Stem cells clearly have some amazing potential when it comes to medical therapies. So why should you store your child’s stem cells?

Usually when receiving stem cell treatments from a donor – whether that is a blood relative or stranger – the cells need to be as close a match to you own as possible. Worse still you may need to wait for a donor to come along which can take some time.

Here is why it is so beneficial to store your baby’s cord blood and tissue.

Should your child become sick then you will have immediate access to a 100% stem cell match as and when you need it. Second to that should they have a sibling that gets ill, you will again have immediate access to the stored stem cells that have a high chance of being a close match. (25% chance of being a perfect match and 50% chance of being a partial match)

With all this information, if you are interested in the process of cord blood banking you can get a welcome pack from us, which should give you all the details you need. We are also always happy to give you help over the phone.

If you or someone you love is affected by a brain injury then check out this webMD article to get resources and information on different conditions. 

None of the information on this website pertains to medical advice. For medical advice and support with your healthcare please speak to your designated Healthcare provider.