The Impact and Demand for New Therapies
Neurological disorders affect patients all over the world. Cerebral Palsy (CP) disrupts an individual’s ability to develop motor skills and causes lifelong physical disabilities. Children with Cerebral Palsy face not only challenges with physical coordination but also with cognitive coordination. The quality of life for both the children and the families is greatly diminished. Traditional therapies do little more than palliative care as they manage symptoms and provide no solution. It is only with the advancement of regenerative therapies that the rehabilitation of broken neural pathways is becoming a reality. Patients now have the option of attending a Stem Cell Clinic. Of the various therapies available, UC-MSCs show a great deal of promise not in the treatment of the exacerbation of symptoms but rather in the treatment of the underlying neurological symptoms.
Complex Mechanisms of Disease
The pathways to the development of Cerebral Palsy begin with an injury to the brain through either hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy or periventricular leukomalacia in utero or in the neonatal period. An injury or rapid depletion of oxygen causes a storm of excitatory neurotransmitters to be released into the extracellular space which leads to a cascade of excitotoxicity through the process of massive calcium influx and subsequent neuronal mitochondrial cell dysfunction and apoptosis. The initial injury and cell death along the neural pathway, often evaluated at a Stem Cell Clinic, is exacerbated by the response of the microglial cell activation inflammatory process that also begins to attack and destroy myelin leading to the breakdown of the nerve conduction pathway that leads from the brain to the muscles in the periphery, a process that UC-MSCs aim to repair. This results in an inability to form functional synapses, which leads to the permanent motor deficits seen in all patients with Cerebral Palsy, prompting many to seek UC-MSCs treatments at a specialized Stem Cell Clinic.
Limitations of Traditional Treatments
The primary focus of current therapeutic approaches for Cerebral Palsy is to optimize physical autonomy through multidisciplinary management. At the core of these strategies is physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Pharmacological treatment involves the use of muscle relaxants, such as baclofen, to diminish spasticity temporarily. Surgery is performed to correct limb deformities or to lengthen contracted tendons. Although these options are effective, they have obvious shortcomings. They lack the ability to repair the damaged central nervous system and do not provide relief to the neuroinflammatory processes that are active. Patients become reliant on lifetime interventions, which compromise their quality of life due to the ineffectiveness and adverse effects. It is evident that there is an unmet need for effective treatments, like UC-MSCs, that stimulate the research and scientific community toward regenerative therapies at an advanced Stem Cell Clinic.
UC-MSCs and Biological Pathways
For regenerative therapy to be effective in repairing damaged CNS structures in Cerebral Palsy patients, robust biotechnological tools utilized at a Stem Cell Clinic are required. In this respect, UC-MSCs are an innovative therapeutic option. UC-MSCs are a type of multipotent stem cell that are derived from Wharton’s Jelly, which are of low immunogenicity due to the absence of MHC class II molecules. This allows for the therapeutic use of stem cells without the risk of severe injury to the recipient. Upon implantation, these cells have the ability to migrate toward the injury site in response to signaling molecules released from the damaged CNS. UC-MSCs are able to exert a protective effect to the CNS through the release of neurotrophic factors.
Endogenous neurogenesis is achievable as the secreted proteins mentioned achieve this as well as sustaining already existing neurons. These proteins are capable of altering the microenvironment by changing the state of the microenvironment from destructive to regenerative by stopping the progressive loss of tissues. This is achieved by the secreted proteins by changing the state of the microglia from activated and aggressive to anti-inflammatory. As stated, the secreted proteins are capable of producing blood vessels and tissues. This adds to the hope and promise of the UC-MSCs administered at a modern Stem Cell Clinic, as the techniques and combination of methods the UC-MSCs utilize are pioneering and reconstruct the neural pathways. This offers hope to patients suffering from symptoms of Cerebral Palsy.
Figure 1: UC-MSCs and Biological Pathways compared with Limitations of Traditional Treatments
Future Trends for Cellular Therapies in Thailand
Southeast Asia and Thailand in particular is a developing area within regenerative medicine and cellular therapy. Within Thailand and especially within the medical part of the governmental sector there is support towards biotechnology and the development of entrepreneurial activities, including the establishment of any premier Stem Cell Clinic. There is ongoing and active research towards the scalability of cellular therapies and the cultivation and development of cellular therapies and the maintenance of cellular viability. There are several agents and factors within Thailand, which are in active collaboration and which enable the development of new therapies and the development of services within stem cell tourism. Within the Thai governmental sector there is a collaboration and cooperation of the governmental laboratories and the universities, and the labs and universities are focused on the applicability and development of new therapies. This makes the country and the region within Asia capable to start the wide clinical application of UC-MSCs within the therapy of Cerebral Palsy.