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 |