Stem cells from umbilical cord could help treat autism | news10.net
SACRAMENTO, CA - At 4-years-old Rydr Rudgers is able to eat, speak, and walk -- all things his family wasn't sure he'd ever do after being diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant.
"He was born without any brain stem functions; no sucking, no swallowing, no breathing," said Rydr's mother Elisa.
When Rydr was 15-months-old, he began stem cell infusions from his cord blood that was saved in a stem cell bank. Rydr is making great progress after three infusions and can even feed himself.
"These are like huge milestones that people don't think about, but actually being able to hold a fork and eat a sandwich is, in our world, an unanticipated milestone and it's amazing," Elisa Rudgers explained.
"Like autism, cerebral palsy or brain injuries of that
nature are a diffused population, it's not one cause," said Dr. Michael Chez, who is the Medical Director of Pediatric Neurology at the Sutter Neuroscience Institute.
