Autism, Male, 17 years, June 2019

Last Updated on: 4th September 2024, 05:12 pm

Summary

Diagnosis Sex Age Nationality
Autism Male 17 years British
Injections Cell type Admission date Discharge date
6 UCBSC + UCMSC June 2nd 2019 June 16th 2019

Condition On Admission

The patient was able to follow verbal commands for easy tasks and needed physical guidance for complex ones. Verbal language was non-existent and the patient was using body language or oral sounds to communicate. He was very sensitive to loud noises and lacked self-awareness. He could not accept that our therapists touch or hold him and would not do any activity with them. In terms of sensory integration, he had tactile oversensitivity in the lower body. For instance he could not put his feet or his knees on different textures. In terms of perception, he could match colors, pick an animal, a color, or a fruit from 2 choices. The concept of numbers was still hard to comprehend for him. Prior to our treatment program, he had been having ABA, OT, speech, PT and play therapy back home.

Treatment Schedule

The patient received 3 umbilical cord blood-derived stem cell (UCBSC) packets and 3 umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (UCMSC) packets by intravenous (IV) and intrathecal injections, as per the schedule below. In addition to stem cell injections, the patient received a daily rehabilitation therapy program that included occupational therapy, aquatic therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation and fecal microbiota transplant.

Number Date Cell Type Delivery Method Side Effects
1 2019-06-03 UCMSC Intravenous Injection none reported
2 2019-06-06 UCMSC Intrathecal Injection &
Intravenous Injection
none reported
3 2019-06-11 UCBSC Intrathecal Injection &
Intravenous Injection
none reported
4 2019-06-14 UCBSC Intravenous Injection none reported

Condition at discharge

After completing our therapeutic program, the patient’s trust and social abilities improved and he was participating more with the therapists. His sensory integration has improved as well and he has started placing his feet and his knees on a puzzle during activities. Regarding his eating pattern, the patient’s mother reported that he has just started eating new foods, such as rice, crackers, banana, pasta, carrots, and a variety of green vegetables. This shows that his oral tactile sense has gradually improved. Cognition and communication-wise, he could now follow 2 step-commands better (restricted to one easy step command prior to starting the treatment). Finally, the patient started to understand the concept of numbers; He could for instance conclude and answer a question such as “How many?” (limited to numbers from 1 to 5). Sometimes, he imitated the therapist’s voice with very light sounds of numbers and easy words, such as, “one”, “fo”, “fa”, “yeh”.

Condition 3 months after treatment

At the 3 month follow up point the patient’s mother evaluated the improvements made as “moderate”. She thought that the patient’s quality of life had moderately improved and she mentioned: “The improvements have reached their peak and are stable” . Please see an excerpt from the patient’s mother’s 3 month assessment below:

Symptom Parents’ Assessment of Improvement
Anxiety or fearfulness Small improvement
Appropriate facial expressions Moderate improvement
Asking questions Small improvement
Aware of danger No improvement
Aware of environment Small improvement
Comfortable with physical contact Moderate improvement
Concentration Moderate improvement
Cooperation with others Moderate improvement
Dressing himself/herself Significant improvement
Expressing own needs Small improvement
Fixation on objects or subjects Small improvement
General conversation Small improvement
General mood Small improvement
Hyperactivity Small improvement
Interaction with others Moderate improvement
Interest in others Small improvement
Limited diet Significant improvement
Over/under eating Significant improvement
Plays appropriately Moderate improvement
Repetitive movements Small improvement
Responding to commands Moderate improvement
Rigidity in routine Moderate improvement
Sensitivity to pain No improvement
Showing imagination Moderate improvement
Sleep disturbance Small improvement
Understanding stories No improvement
Uses eye contact Moderate improvement
Uses greetings Moderate improvement
Using more than one word at a time No improvement
Using sentences No improvement