CHENNAI: While it is not a breakthrough or first time in the world claim, what is interesting as far as Vikram’s development is concerned is the quick recovery that the cocktail of stem cells managed to effect in him. When neural damage (conditions like Parkinsons, Cerebral Palsy and Autism) occurs, some part of the nerve is damaged irreversibly. But there are neurons surrounding the affected portion of the brain which are sleeping while some are inactive, energy-less and at the risk of death. “Stem cells are like a molecule which helps in waking up the sleeping cells,” explains Dr Bansal, who is based in Rudrapur, UP. They also accelerate the inherent process of recovery.Late 2010, Dr NK Venkataramana, a neuro-surgeon from Bangalore was hailed as one of the first to show positive results among patients with Parkinson’s disease. However, he used keyhole surgeries to implant the stem cells into the brain. “This creates a bit of a risk, which we were unwilling to take with children for an experimental procedure,” adds Dr Bansal. Another unique difference which he points out is that though all procedures were mostly autologous (from the patient for the patient), he preferred taking bone marrow from as near the brain as possible – this speeds up the neural development, as they are as close to neural cells as can be, ‘Stem cells from other body parts will have to be given growth drugs (factors) to turn them into brain cells otherwise,” he explains.The most important difference between other stem cell therapies for cerebral palsy and his is the protocol and proportions of cells and drugs used, he claims, “We are in the process of patenting our protocol of how to prepare the cell cocktail. Importantly, we use an advanced centrifuge to process the marrow three times at about 1400 rpm. Normal procedures do the process only once,” he reveals. No manipulation of the mesenchymal stem cells is done physically, chemically or biologically, he adds. Research by Dr Like Wu and Dr Xiaojuan Wang, who use a similar cocktail, show that even with physical rehabilitation, a minimum of 6 weeks in hospital is mandatory. Age is the only drawback as shown by all studies. According to data from AnsCell, a private stem cell research firm, their clinical trial showed that among 14 patients with CP, aged below 15, there is definite improvement. Above that is a hazy area. Dr Bansal is even more particular, “Children below the age of 8 are the best candidates to have their growth inhibitors removed using this therapy.” Whether or not it is a permanent cure is debatable, but Vikram’s case validates the need for clinical trials using this protocol.
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