• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Stem Cell Treatment for Autism

Personally I put a lot of weight on the Knoepfler Lab's feedback on this issue given their primary mission is authorized stem cell research in the United States. That they have a formal stake in such research.

That if there was any real promise in this field relative to autism, it would be fundamentally counter-productive for them to be so scientifically pessimistic. That they have everything to gain from the proliferation of such treatments if they were truly beneficial to test subjects.
 
Even supposing this is effective treatment, which I doubt, what does your brother have to say about all of this? Have you asked him his opinion? Does he want this treatment?
 
Autism is not something which can be treated. It is not a disease nor a negative condition. It just is. If you remove the autism from a person, they are no longer the same person. I suggest you and whoever else is considering this "treatment" to learn to love the person for who they are, not despite it.
 
I'm so sorry @Bethany143, but stem cell therapy is not, nor will it ever be a cure for autism.

You are correct in that stem cells can specialize and become red or white blood cells and there are also neural stem cells. But autism is a brain structure, not damage. Cell repair or replacement will no more effect autism spectrum disorder than a sticky plaster will cure OCD.

I sincerely hope you find what you are looking for, but until you do, please don't pay these doctors any money.
 
Hmm, stem cell treatment for a condition which they don't even know the cause of. Sounds reasonable.

I feel sorry for your brother if this is going to go ahead.
 
Bethany143 said:
Stem cells repair and replace damaged cells. So the improvements families are seeing are permanent....It has a 75% success of reducing the inflammation and aiding more brain productivity.
Click to expand...

It is hard to believe that with all that has been published on autism in the neurology community, that anyone could possibly still think that autism can be cured at all, let alone that it can be 'repaired' because it is caused by 'damaged cells', or that inflammation of some kind is to blame.

Leaving aside the science, because after all, these people who study brain architecture clearly know nothing at all, I, personally, find it offensive that anyone in the 21st century thinks it appropriate to talk not just about autistic people and aspies, but TO autistic people and aspies as if we are defective and damaged. Oh, or that what is wrong with us is that our brains aren't productive enough.

This is barely good enough to make the fake science standard, let alone the real thing.

The motive may be laudable, but the history of autism 'treatments' and 'therapies' is littered with countless examples of often bizarre and sometimes very damaging (and almost always extremely expensive) so-called cures and interventions which are traded on the back of families desperate to find a solution. The people responsible for these so-called treatments get very rich on the back of human suffering. I'm not a fan of the death penalty, but they cross a line for me that deserves it.

And yes, there are always some who find improvements and believe the treatment is responsible. There have been plenty of words written on how that happens too, never, according to scientific studies, as a result of the treatments, but sometimes despite them. And let us not forget that after spending all that money, people want to see improvements, they are predisposed to interpret anything different as a sign.

In this day and age, so much more could be achieved in making life a happy and productive place to be for all of us on the spectrum if all that wasted money was instead directed at outreach, support and caring for autistic people, and ensuring we are not treated as defective and needing to be fixed, just different and deserving of respect.
 
Last edited:
I suppose from the NT perspective there's always going to be a significant number of those who sincerely look to an illusion of autism being somehow "cured" some day. After all, it's a school of thought that has been fostered by entities like Autism Speaks for a long time.

It's just sad that many of them probably have no clue as to how damaging such a perspective can be to those of us on the spectrum. Often making us feel like a distinct underclass when we aren't expected or allowed sufficient understanding and acceptance to peacefully coexist in their world. Where for many of us our only alternative is to exhaustively fake who and what we are, the best we can.
 
Last edited:
Bethany143 said:
Hi there! Looking to hear from anyone who has received stem cell treatment for themselves or their loved one with autism
My family is considering getting it done for my brother who is 26. He is older than most children who have received the treatment but I think it could be very beneficial.
Can anyone who tried it please share their experience? Also please note where you went for treatment.

For those new to the conversation here is a link for more info!

Stem Cell Therapy for Autism || Stem Cell Treatment Information || Panama

Thank you so much!!!
Click to expand...

Hi Bethany. I've read through everyone's responses here and agree with them, by and large, but there's a lot you left out of your initial post. For instance:

Does your brother have co-morbid inflammatory diseases? Is he non-verbal?

Is it possible that in cases where miraculous changes occur, an auto-immune, inflammatory issue has gone un-diagnosed or under-treated and the stem cell therapy relieved some of the discomfort and frustration of those conditions that, prior to treatment, led to overwhelm and uncontrolled behaviors?
 
I agree that autism is something that gives a person personality. Just because it's a developmental disorder doesn't mean it needs to be eradicated. Plus, I doubt stem cell treatment would even affect the brain. It affects cells but not how the brain has developed. Plus, why would someone want to get did of their autism if it makes them who they are? If you get rid of your autism, you're throwing your personality in the trash. Plus, most autistics have obsessions that can make them strive to be successful without giving up, and the obsessions can be used as a career. Like my obsession with animals. And the stimming makes us feel good or helps calm us. I often rock back and forth after being tortured by loud noises all day every day. And even if stem cell treatment works, it's not going to change the way our brains process senses. It won't help sensory issues. Cells cannot change your brain and make you stop stimming or normalize your senses to where you can tolerate noises and smells. That's just like saying you can use that to change a person's identity. You can't even change an animal's personality, no matter how much training you put them through. And even if it does work "magically" or even seems to work? Why would I wanna get rid of my autism? So I can have all these limits (such as sensitive hearing, anxiety, social impairments, etc.) without a reason except to think I'm a loser? No. There's a reason we have limits, and it's autism. If all that could be "cured", then going inside a brain and changing someone else's personality would have been possible. But neither of that is possible. Whoever went through the treatment and SEEMED to have changed is delusional. I bet the kid probably still stims, has social issues, etc.
 
Result of stem cell therapy for treating autism is very considerable. Almost 89% people with autism have shown clinical improvements. If you are interested to know more about stem cell therapy in Mexico read this article: Stem Cell Therapy Cost in Mexico - Medical Tour Agency

Remember stem cell therapy is a costly procedure, but in Mexico it is much less costlier and the procedures maintain highly standards and legal rules.
 
If there was any type of pill, gene therapy, stem cell therapy, etc that would somehow change my neurology from autistic to NT I would never even consider doing it. Not interested in the least. That's even if the therapy or medicine eliminated the challenges and sensitivities that are a part of my autism.
 
Catana said:
1. As far as I know, there is no evidence that autism is caused by "damaged" cells.
2. What proof is being offered that "inflammation" has been reduced? What proof is there that inflammation has anything to do with causing autism?
3. Autism is a developmental problem, which means that changes keep on happening throughout a child's development. It isn't at all uncommon for a child to suddenly start speaking or going through other desirable changes -- without any medical intervention. If parents aren't aware of this, they will attribute the improvement to the treatment, when there is nothing more involved than sheer coincidence.
4. By limiting yourself to parents' stories, you are denying yourself the knowledge you need to avoid medical quackery. If you make recommendations to other people based on this anecdotal information rather than on verified medical research results, you will be responsible for interfering and for possibly doing actual harm. This is how so much misinformation get circulated on the web. Don't be a part of that.
Click to expand...
I clicked Agree to your reply, but I would have clicked Agree X10 (or more) if available.
What you posted is exactly what I'm talking about. You just did it far better.
Thanks.
 
I am autistic. I have a long, multipage list of autistic symptoms that has made my life very difficult. However, I would not – not even a little bit – want my autism to be “treated” or “cured”. I am autistic. It is who I am. As I have gone throughout life and discovered who I am and why I am who I am, I am now proud of me and my accomplishments – most of which would not have occurred without my autism.

My greatest autistic difficulties are all social. What’s made my life difficult is the social differences and normal people are not tolerant to people who are different. If I had been allowed to be me without the derogatory, depreciative and disparaging bullying; life would have been far easier and better. There is an ugly word for that; it is called bigotry. Bigotry applies to far more than just racial.

Do you think NeuroTypical people should be “treated” or “cured” of being NeuroTypical? My wife is NT. Though she is in the majority, there is a lot of things she just can’t get. She is totally incapable comprehending many things that are glaringly clear to me. I believe it is a benefit to our lives because it broadens our collective scope of perception. It does often cause tension, but tension is a part of life. It does not reduce our love.

It is known that autism is a natural element of the human species. It broadens the populations perspectives of the world we live in. While the majority focuses on social interaction, autistics tend to focus on the mechanics of the world.

Albert Einstein was autistic. His autistic obsessions are what made him a successful mathematician. He is responsible for much of what humankind understands about physics. I think that is profoundly beneficial. Should Albert’s autism have been “treated”? Would it have been better to have made him non-autistic? Would it have been better that we not have had the Albert Einstein that we were given?
All successful people are driven to their success. Autistics generally have a built-in added focus. Would it have been better to strip Nikola Tesla’s autism away and make him normal? Or, how about Sir Isaac Newton, or perhaps Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or Elon Musk or even Dan Aykroyd, Tim Burton, Hans Christian Anderson, Lewis Carrol or Daryl Hannah and many more autistics that we have all benefited from. Treating, curing or suppressing any of these people’s autism would change who they are. Autism is not a disease. It is a natural part of the human species. I know because I am autistic. I also have diseases. I have type 1 diabetes; I am celiac, and I have Crohn’s disease, plus a few others. These are diseases that require / benefit from treatment. But these diseases do not define me. But my autism is a part of who I am. This is me.
 
How about Paul Dirac or many others, I could list names as long as your arm good chunk of the worlds most prominent scientists, artists , musicians, mathematicians. you are right why should we change or be cured. I would have it no other way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom