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Duke University is not only a perennial basketball power run by Mike Krzyzewski, it is becoming an Adult Stem Cell powerhouse for Cerebral Palsy patients too. Run by Coach (Dr.) Joanne Kurtzberg I present yet another Cerebral Palsy patient who has been helped by Adult Stem Cell research and the implantation of their own Adult Stem Cells (Repair Stem Cells) saved from the child's cord blood at Duke.
First I gave you
Dallas Hextell, a 2 year old boy from Sacremento who was treated at Duke for Cerebral Palsy- Successfully by his own Repair Stem Cells. Later, I presented
Chloe Levine, a 2 year old girl who was treated at Duke- again a great success. And just last week, I gave you
Maia Friedlander, a 4 year old girl from NEW ZEALAND, who had to travel all the way to Duke University to receive the implantation of her own stem cells, a relatively simple and safe procedure- Again - A great success. And today, I have another one- John Centrello, a young boy from New Jersey who also went to Duke and received his own Repair Stem Cells for his Cerebral Palsy.
Before I present John Centrello, I just want to ask how many stories do I need to post until we can say "Hey! This Adult Stem Cell therapy is working for Cerebral Palsy !! Why don't we make it easily available to everyone and improve even more lives so a child in New Zealand doesn't have to travel around the world for a 15 minute safe and easy treatment?
Here is John before the stem cell treatment at Duke:
Things were not quite usual with baby John, beginning with his first day home from the hospital. He would scream and cry and then fall asleep. He slept through the night and would not wake up to eat. At 10 days old, he was hospitalized for 4 days because he wasn't eating. When John was 3 ½ months old, Danielle noticed that he was left handed. As he got older, she noticed additional signs that she found concerning. In his ExerSaucer, John tilted to the left. He kept his right hand tightly clenched most of the time. His right eye frequently twitched. By the time John was 6 months old, Danielle was very concerned. When she mentioned her concerns to her pediatrician, he sent her to a neurologist. It turned out that John had had a stroke in-utero and there was some left-brain damage which was causing weakness to his right side. Through an MRI, it was discovered that John's stroke had been massive and a large portion of the left side of his brain was damaged, including his language area. The first thing Danielle did was get on the Internet and start doing all of the research she could. She was looking for information on pediatric stroke, since she had never heard of it. She eventually discovered a neurologist on the other side of the country who specialized in treating victims of pediatric stroke. When she contacted the pediatric stroke specialist, knowing she had saved baby John's cord blood, she specifically asked about using the cord blood as a treatment. The doctor told her that she had patients who appeared to have improvement from a cord blood transfusion. She suggested Danielle contact Duke University, where doctors are performing cord blood transplants in an effort to treat cerebral palsy, which is often caused by infant stroke. And now for the happy after the Repair Stem Cells on September 28th:
The transplant itself took only about 15 minutes. The cord blood had been shipped earlier and the doctors at Duke only needed to use half of John's stored blood. According to Danielle, "There was more than enough cord blood and the doctors at Duke felt we only needed one bag. We have saved the other bag in case we need to use it for something else." The cord blood was transfused through an I.V. into John's arm. After the transplant, the Centrellos returned home. Less than a week after the transplant, John began pivoting in a circle. Within weeks, they began to notice additional changes in his behavior. His right hand, which was constantly clenched before the procedure, is now usually kept open. The only time it is clenched is when he is deeply concentrating on something. Since returning from North Carolina, baby John has used both hands together and he actually examines his right hand. He has also begun putting his right hand into his mouth. According to Danielle, "He has sensation in his right hand; it is now just a matter of building up muscle." He has also begun bearing weight on his right side. Since the procedure, he leans onto his right arm. In addition, baby John used to have a crooked smile, where the right side of his mouth drooped. It doesn't droop anymore. He is able to point to things with his right hand; the improvement has been extremely noticeable. John also rolls over in either direction and can go from a prone position directly to a sitting position. One of his therapists believes that he will walk before he crawls. The Centrellos are not the only ones who have noticed a change. Baby John's therapists have also noticed improvement. While John has extensive therapy ahead of him, the Centrellos are optimistic about the future. Click here for the full article