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Home Tag: "autism spectrum"

Tag: autism spectrum

15Jan

Umbilical Cord Stem Cells

Autism, clinically referred to today as Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, has had a long and difficult road to understanding and, more important, treatment. For many centuries, ASD wasn’t even properly recognized as a distinct condition with its own needs and treatment methods. While there was often a clear behavioral component, there was little understanding of the neurophysiological nature of the condition. Today, while there is much more knowledge about the condition available, the medical comprehension regarding the condition is still far from complete.

Research into the condition continues, and so far, much progress has been made in both gathering data and finding different ways to manage ASD. One thing that eludes medical science, however, is a cure. ASD, at least with modern treatments, still currently has no cure, the symptoms can only be managed through various methods. Those methods range from behavioral therapy techniques to medications like anti-psychotics. There is one new avenue that is being explored, and that is using umbilical cord stem cells. But what are umbilical cord stem cells, and why is this development so promising?

There Is Power In Potential

Umbilical stem cells are simultaneously one of the most basic cells in human anatomy and the most difficult to use for medical purposes. It wasn’t until just a few decades ago that medical science got to the point where experts understood the potential of stem cells put them to use. A stem cell is the basic building block of life. DNA is the blueprint that provides a complete “map” for building a human being, but it is stem cells that do the work.

Other cells in the human body are singular in their reproductive ability. Skin cells can only reproduce more skin cells, and hair can only grow more hair. Nerves don’t grow out of eye cells, and stomach cells can’t create additional brain cells. Stem cells, however, are the exception to this rule. These cells start “blank,” in that they don’t have a previously assigned “function.” Because of that, they are capable of “reprogramming” themselves to become any cell in the body, whether it is more skin cells that easily reproduce or rare heart cells that don’t reproduce at all.

This is how human beings are born. When an egg is fertilized by sperm, and a new genetic blueprint is formed from the fusion of DNA, the first order of business is to divide and create more and more stem cells. These stem cells, once they are sufficient in number, eventually specialize into the organs like brain, kidneys, and heart.

A Limited Window

Unfortunately, while stem cells are unlimited their ability to become any cell, they are limited in their presence. The stem cells created during pregnancy are known as “pleuripotent” because of their cellular versatility. The catch is that pluripotent cells are only generated during pregnancy by the considerable resources provided by a pregnant mother. Human beings, after birth, do create more pluripotent stem cells of their own.

Humans do, however, continue to create other, more limited stem cells. Bone marrow is a source of stem cells after birth. In the bone marrow, stem cells are created that can become different types of blood cells, wether that is red, white, or other cells.

It was the discovery of these stem cells in the bone marrow that eventually led to an effective treatment for leukemia that is now officially approved by American medical organizations, and larger Federal bodies like the FDA. Leukemia is a form of blood cancer that causes mutations in blood cells, so they reproduce incorrectly, with more and more flaws. Stem cells harvested from bone marrow, however, can restore the balance of cells that reproduce healthily.

Limited Applications

Pluripotent stem cells have been extensively used in research, and are now seen as a potential treatment for a variety of formerly incurable conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, and ASD. Curiously, in the United States, only stem cell treatments for blood-related illnesses such as leukemia are currently endorsed by the FDA. Other countries, such as Germany, China, and Georgia, are years ahead in branching out to other treatments. Even the celebrated American athlete Payton Manning famously traveled to Germany for stem cell treatments to his neck to recover from an otherwise career-ending vertebral injury that had no available treatments in America.

Pluripotent cells can only be ethically harvested in significant numbers from the umbilical cord, which is why they are sometimes referred to as umbilical cord cells. To use umbilical cord cells, a mother, after childbirth, must request—or agree to a request—to collect the cells and store them for future use. Stem cells are only compatible with close genetic relations, so ideally, a child, for example, being treated for ASD would use stem cells stored from birth. Failing that, the stem cells of a close genetic relative, such as a younger sibling, would suffice if those stem cells were stored, but the patient’s stem cells were not.

19Aug

Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is a condition that affects behavior primarily. There are some physical symptoms associated with it, gastrointestinal inflammation being a very common occurrence among those diagnosed with ASD, but what the condition is most well-known for is the way it affects the behavior of the person. Because it is a condition, and not a disease or infection, such as pneumonia, there is no injection, antibiotics, or other treatment that can cure ASD. The symptoms can only be diagnosed, assessed, and then managed.

Because this is one of the key factors for getting good treatment for ASD is proper classification. If you don’t know what you’re dealing with, you won’t know how to treat it. This has been one of the biggest hurdles to those with ASD getting the help they needed. For example, it was only in the 1980s that ASD was even recognized as a disorder; before that, people with the conditioned were diagnosed as being schizophrenic.

This was problematic for many years because some people with ASD can, and do, respond positively to the prescription of antipsychotics, but it is not appropriate for everyone. This is one of the reasons why classifying and categorizing ASD has, in recent years, become more comprehensive and accurate.

Another example of this is ICD 10 and the diagnosis of severe autism. So what is ICD 10? Why and how is it being used?

An Administrative Standard

ICD stands for International Classification of Diseases, and it is created by the World Health Organization. The ICD-10 standard being discussed was delayed by several years, due to many objections from both American medical and insurance organizations. The objections were raised because of the growing complexity of the ICD system, as well as the ways it complicated an activity of particular importance to the USA, billing for insurance companies.

While the rest of the world uses the ICD system primarily for diagnosis, the USA also relies on it for classifying and approving the payment of medical services from medical insurance companies. Despite the USA being in the minority compared to the rest of the world for what the ICD system was primarily used for, it wasn’t until the medical and insurance organizations of America were satisfied that the ICD’s 10th iteration, known as ICD-10, finally went into general release in 2013.

The Billing Issue

This means that by creating a standard, regarding diseases and other conditions, with a listing of what treatments are normally expected, insurance companies can more quickly determine whether all appropriate actions have been taken to pay—or not pay—on medical bills.

For example, if pneumonia were designated as T16, then this simple alphanumeric code is much easier to fill in forms, both paper and digital. It makes it easy to consult what the symptoms of T16 are, what the appropriate treatments are, and both doctors and insurance companies can check to see if all the “boxes” required for treating T16 have been met. If so, normal bureaucratic and financial actions, such as medical insurance covering payments, can now take place.

The ASD Designation

In the case of ASD, the general condition of autism is designated as F84. One important thing to note is that the ICD-10 designation is already out of date. In 2018, WHO released the ICD-11 classification system, so ICD-10 is already out of date, especially since it used the older forms of categorization that another American medical reference, the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders had already abandoned this form of categorization in with the publication of DSM-V in 2013. DSM-V diagnoses “collapse” different groupings of Autism into a single condition, ASD, while previous versions of DSM-III and DSM-IV categorized ASD patients into different groups. The ICD-10 system also used these same categorizations.

This is where severe autism under the old ICD-10 designation can come in. While children diagnosed under the current systems wouldn’t necessarily have these categorizations today, children diagnosed with F84 Autism had a subset of different, specific conditions that ran from F84.1 through to F84.9.

The most severe form of autism under the old ICD-10 standard was F84.4, named Overactive disorder associated with mental retardation and stereotyped movements. This was characterized by the following symptoms:

Severe mental retardation: Children diagnosed F84.4 was when evaluated for IQ, usually scored at 35, or less, where the average intelligence quotient is considered 100.

Hyperactivity: Children in this category show excessive levels of activity that is often paired with an inability to pay attention.

Stereotyped behaviors: In this case, stereotype refers to a repeated set of motions or behaviors that is triggered to a high degree. Rocking back and forth, complex hand movements, gazing, and other actions are repeated to excessive degrees, either unconsciously, or as a coping mechanism.

Severe autism can be extremely challenging for parents. This requires an extra level of care for a child, and likely means a very different, more attentive parental experience than what average families face. Patience and understanding are essential to the process.

8Jul

While, autism, or, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), currently has no permanent cure, there are some aspects of this condition that can be treated to manage or reduce certain symptoms. Some of these treatments are behavioral therapies, such as teaching children to maintain eye contact when communicating, or specific training to learn how to tie shoes. Other treatments are medical in nature, such as the use of stem cell therapy to reduce aggression or increase engagement and language receptivity.

However, while stem cell therapy is providing some promising results, it is also a more recent development in medical technology. Primarily it is used in the treatment of certain types of cancer, such as leukemia, but the applications for stem cell therapy are spreading, and, aside from ASD treatment, there is hope that it may one day prove to be a viable treatment for other conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, or even paralysis.

But why? What is it about stem cell therapy that makes it so effective? What are stem cells?

From Blank To Specialized

To understand the value of stem cells, we need to go back to the basics, with the development of a fertilized egg that, nine months later, is born into the world as a fully developed baby. When an egg is first fertilized and shares its DNA with sperm to create a new DNA “blueprint” that will eventually become a baby, it is still a single cell. That cell then divides, then divides again. Over time, it keeps dividing until dozens of cells turn into thousands, then millions.

At some point, those cells begin to specialize. Some become brain cells, while others become lung cells, and still others become blood cells. All of these cells, following the blueprint of DNA, take on specific roles, becoming the various organs that make up a human being. The reason these cells can do so is that in the womb, as a baby is developing, the child relies on stem cells.

Stem cells are like a blank disc or USB stick for computers. By themselves, they are empty, but if you decide to put videos there, you can now watch videos. If you store your music there, you can listen to music. If you have the software you want to use, you can even transfer it there. In other words, that blank space or data becomes “overwritten” with whatever function you require.

A Limited Duration

Stem cells are only available in “plentiful supply” for the duration of a child’s development in the womb. Once a child is ready for birth, the available supply of stem cells dramatically drops off. However, during birth, plenty of stem cells are still available—though not necessarily used—in different parts of a mother’s body. This is where “cord blood” becomes an extremely valuable medical substance.

Cord blood refers to the biological materials found in the placenta, the thin sac that surrounds a baby during pregnancy. It is also the umbilical cord, the direct physical connection between the mother and child that acts as a “toll gate” delivering nutrients from the mother so the baby can grow. The umbilical cord also expels waste from the baby so that it can remain clean and healthy. A significant amount of stem cells remain in cord blood after birth, which is why many mothers are now asked if they would like to have cord blood collected and stored. The stem cells could be valuable material for future medical treatment.

The Less Effective Option

Once a baby is born and starts to mature, the stem cell population drops off significantly. Now, most cells can only reproduce more copies of themselves, and not all cells can do this in abundance. So while people can get cuts to their skin, and immediately have skin cells start reproducing replacements when someone suffers from amputation, the bone, muscle and nerve cells can’t grow back in the numbers required for a limb to replace itself, the same way lizards do when they lose a tail.

Stem cells are still present in people after birth, but in very limited quantities, and they don’t necessarily have the same versatility. In adults, a small number of stem cells exist in bone marrow, the brain, and liver. However, these stem cells are quite limited and can only produce related cells.

This is why stem cell therapy has been so successful for people diagnosed with leukemia, a type of blood cancer. A bone marrow transplant and stem cell therapy with stem cells from bone marrow can produce new blood cells to replace the ones damaged or rendered defective by leukemia.

Other Options

Under certain conditions, the stem cells that are harvested in other parts of the body, such as bone marrow, can be modified in labs to function as pluripotent stem cells, that is, cells that more closely resemble the embryonic cells of cord blood. However, even here, the results have not been as wide-ranging as embryonic stem cells, which remain the best source of effective stem cell therapy treatment.

18Jun

Today, autism, or, the more accurate term, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has accumulated far more understanding about certain characteristics of this condition. There is also far more understanding and tolerance for those diagnosed with ASD, a happy contrast from the past, where people with ASD would be poorly treated, and often misdiagnosed as mentally ill.

But just because we have a better understanding of ASD, and how it affects people, that doesn’t mean that this understanding is complete. And it doesn’t mean that the public at large is more aware of ASD and how to interact with ASD patients. If you’re uncertain as to what ASD is, and would like to know more about it, we’ll explain.

What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

ASD is a medical condition, not a disease. This means that it currently has no known cure, unlike illnesses such as pneumonia, which can often be cured through specific medicines, vaccines, or other treatments. ASD can only have some of its symptoms managed or reduced, but the ASD itself cannot currently be eliminated.

ASD is a mixture of physiological, neurological, and behavioral symptoms that result in difficulties with social interaction, repetitive behavior patterns, and some physical symptoms, such as gastrointestinal issues, or sleep disorders. As a result of this mix of neurological, physiological, and behavioral factors, this may sometimes lead to the development of additional disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and others.

Why Is It A Spectrum?

The reason that ASD is called a spectrum disorder is that there is a very large variance in the number of symptoms manifested, as well as the severity of those symptoms. The seriousness of the symptoms is occasionally classified by their ability to affect a person’s function in normal, everyday settings, and interactions. Some people diagnosed with ASD, for example, are considered “high functioning,” in that, aside from being regarded as introverted, or having eccentric behavior, they have never required any additional therapy or treatment, and the ASD doesn’t have a severe impact on their lifestyle.

However, the other end of the spectrum is referred to as “low functioning,” and this can mean that people diagnosed with ASD experience great difficulty in normal settings and interactions. Poor communication skills, such as low verbal interactions, refusal to make eye contact, and even aggression issues mean that without behavioral therapy, or in some cases, medications such as antipsychotics, individuals in this area of the spectrum require more treatment and attention and may never smoothly integrate into a normal social setting.

What Causes ASD?

Medical research revealed that a primary cause of ASD is genetic. The severity of ASD can vary, but if there is a family history of ASD, there is a likelihood that the ASD will be passed onto a child born within that family line. However, while genetic transmission is one of the main forms of ASD appearing in a person, it is not the only one.

There are conditions which can create ASD even in someone without the genetic characteristics. Many of these are pre-natal, meaning that circumstances before or during birth may create the condition. Mothers who become pregnant at a very advanced age raise the risks of a child being born with ASD. The weight of the child while developing in the womb also plays a role. Children with insufficient access to nutrition during pregnancy, and are chronically underweight during pregnancy have an increased risk of being diagnosed with ASD.

Even the birth itself, if not properly supervised, can lead to ASD. Hypoxia is a condition where the infant does not receive sufficient oxygen, which may result in brain damage or other effects. If hypoxia occurs shortly before, or during birth, sometimes the resultant oxygen deprivation can result in ASD.

What Are The Symptoms Of ASD?

It’s important to remember that people diagnosed with ASD will not have all the symptoms of ASD and that the severity of these symptoms can vary wildly, from mild to crippling. Some of the most common symptoms of ASD are:

Lack Of Eye Contact

People with ASD tend to find direct eye-contact over-stimulating due to the way they process information, and so avoid it. Depending on the severity, some therapy may overcome this.

Repetitive Motions/Behaviors

People with ASD often find repeating a certain motion, such as rocking back and forth, or repeating certain behaviors, like playing with a toy in a particular way, soothing. As a result, they tend to engage in these activities at an abnormal rate of frequency.

Unique Speech Patterns

People diagnosed with ASD may develop distinct speech patterns, such as unusual vocal tones, or even a lack of tones, sounding robotic. They did not subconsciously integrate conventional speech patterns the way other children did.

Routine Oriented

Those diagnosed with ASD often place great importance in establishing and maintaining routines. Disruptions to routines can result in high irritability, and, in extreme cases, aggression.

Remember that it’s important always to consult a medical expert, and get a professional diagnosis of whether someone has ASD, before deciding what steps to take next.

6Jun

Autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be an extremely challenging medical condition for families to deal with. For many years, ASD wasn’t even properly diagnosed, and many people with this condition grew up and were misdiagnosed under a variety of different conditions, from psychological disorders, such as being psychotic, to physical medical conditions, such as being diagnosed as intellectually disabled, what was once formally known as “mental retardation.”

The reason for this is that ASD’s biggest challenge lies in the word “spectrum.” Not only is there a wide variety of different symptoms that fall under ASD, but the severity of those symptoms varies widely. So a person that might describe themselves as introverted might be diagnosed as having ASD, but a person prone to bouts of aggression, with no ability to sustain communication with others, and a requirement to be on a series of medications to remain placid may also be ASD.

The biggest challenge with ASD is that it is not precisely understood. While some conditions, such as the common cold, or certain types of cancer can point to bacterial transmission, or genetics as part of the framework for understanding how a disorder works, and where it comes from, ASD is not yet at that level. A lot of research is still being done to document and understand the underpinnings of ASD, but there are still many blank spaces in medical knowledge about this condition. This is one of the reasons why stem cell therapy for autism is still being looked into.

No Known Cure

One thing that can be definitively said about the current state of medicine and autism is that no known cure currently exists for ASD. Specific ASD symptoms can be managed or reduced, but there is no way to eliminate ASD in the same way that an antibiotic can clear up an infection, and allow a patient to return to a normal life, from an illness. To one degree or another, someone diagnosed with ASD is always going to have to cope with it in some way.

However, because ASD lies along a spectrum, with different symptoms and different levels of severity for those symptoms, different treatments will be suggested based on an individual diagnosis of what an ASD child needs. Some ASD children, for example, may be recommended to take certain types of occupational therapy, to learn everyday activities, such as tying shoes or eating with utensils. Others may be directed towards speech therapy to learn to verbalize normally and interact with others while maintaining eye contact.

For others, however, there may be an alternative suggestion, and that is stem cell therapy for autism.

What Are Stem Cells?

Stem cells are sometimes referred to by their nickname, “master cells,” because of the versatility that stem cells posses compared to other cells. In a mature adult, as one example, brain cells do not grow and replace themselves at the same rate as other parts of the body, such as skin. This is one of the reasons why people become more forgetful as they age, with neurons in the brain dying off at a higher rate once the aging process gets beyond a certain point. In most cases, such as healing skin, or growing new brain cells, the cells must come from the same source; the skin or the brain.

Stem cells, however, are like “master keys” that can open any lock. No matter where a stem cell goes, it is capable of converting itself over to whatever cells required, and encouraging the growth of new cells in that area. Stem cells are what make it possible for babies to develop in the uterus without specialized organs such as the heart or liver already being present to “instruct” cells on how to grow.

Treating Autism

Stem cell therapy for autism is the cultivation of stem cells and infusing them into an ASD child. Stem cells, however, are not as easy or as common to harvest as other cells, such as blood cells, for example, which are everywhere, and can be easily collected. In most people, the only place where stem cells exist in any appreciable number is within the bone marrow, so some techniques do exist for extracting stem cells from bone marrow, but this is not where the greatest number of stem cells reside.

In some cases, stem cells are harvested from other sources, such as the blood contained in the umbilical cord of a mother that has recently given birth. Cord blood, as it is sometimes called, is rich in stem cells and it’s common for many mothers today to be prudent about storing cord blood for future use. If you have your cord blood stored, it may be suitable for use stem cell therapy for autism. If you don’t, there may still be other alternatives open to you for using stem cells to treat autism.

As always, it is first important to have an ASD child fully diagnosed, and then discuss the situation with medical experts to see if stem cell therapy for autism is even recommended for a child.




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