Stem Cell Treatment for Cerebral Palsy?

Medical News Today is carrying a interesting article entitled, “Dramatic Improvement For 19-Year-Old Hungarian Cerebral Palsy Sufferer After Stem Cell Treatment.”

According to the report a 19-year-old from Hungary named Gabor Bocskai had stem cells injected into the fluid around his spinal cord.

It goes on to say,

“The successful procedure, performed at China’s top stem cell facility, makes Mr. Bocskai the first teenage European CP patient to
see rapid improvement through stem cell therapy. Unedited
videos taken before and after Mr. Bocskai’s injections dramatically demonstrate the profound improvement in his 19-year battle to walk, write, focus his eyes, concentrate, and overcome the many other detrimental effects resulting from the CP he acquired at birth. More details and the videos have been published on China’s leading Stem Cell News site at http://www.stemcellschina.com.
Some of Mr. Bocskai’s most noticeable and immediate physical
improvements after the eight-week stem cell therapy program
include improved vision, increased eye focus and better
concentration on one subject. He also reported clearer writing, enhanced muscle tone, the ability to sit up unsupported, and a new capability to walk and swim in an unassisted manner. As a lifelong quadriplegic with paralysis in his lower limbs, Mr. Bocskai was never able to walk independently, using a wheelchair for transportation. Within four months of the initial treatment, he stated that he was able to walk with the help of a walker and no other support, and at a rate three times faster than ever before with increased maneuverability in his legs and torso. Even his
speech became clearer and faster.
In Mr. Bocskai’s most recent blog entry dated March 11, 2007, he excitedly stated, “My ability to concentrate has increased up to 6 hours a day as a result of stem cell treatment, so studying is much easer than before. I no longer get tired from learning.” (Gabor’s CP Blog is at
http://www.stemcellschina.com/blogs/Gabor%20cp/)The
Hospital announced that Mr. Bocskai has since returned to
Hungary from China and has reported continued daily
improvement. It also cautioned that not every teenage CP
patient treated with stem cell therapy should expect the
same impressive results.”

There is very little information on the procedure, and I could not find any information about where the stem cells came from. I do see that he also had “certain medications” as well as hyperbaric oxygen.

The article is so enthusiastic that it reads like an advertisement!

I do very much hope that Gabor gets some real help from all of these treatments, but we need to be very cautious until we have a great deal more information not just about the science, but also the ethics of the treatment that he has had. For example, where did the stem cells come from? Do we know that they were stem cells?

It is always great to hear about success stories, but sad to say, we then need to do the boring bit: the checking, the testing and the replicating that go into sustainable medical progress.

I have done an extensive literature search and cannot find any published scientific reports, but I only covered the languages that I can read. So there could be something in Chinese that I missed.

I shall let you know immediately if we find out any more about the use of stem cell treatments in humans.