A new ray of hope for patients with muscular dystrophy

2024-04-26 12:20:44 Health and Fitness

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There is a possibility that we are reaching a point of finding a probable treatment for a muscle-weakening disease called muscular dystrophy. This comes after doctors in India have found significant improvement in patients who were treated with stem cell therapy.

Neuromuscular disorders, degenerative disorders and genetic disorders such as autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, down syndrome etc. seen among the younger population have no definitive treatment protocol that can be followed globally. The available conventional treatment aims to improve the capacity of the child to function by reducing the symptoms of the disease along with promoting growth and learning.

No absolute universal solution available

Globally, there is no definitive cure available and only corticosteroids are being used by doctors to slow down muscle damage. Yet steroids have side effects of their own. In stem cell therapy, the cord-derived stem cells and IGF1 (a protein encoded by the IGF1 gene in humans) are being used for stabilization and reversal of muscle damage during the initial treatment process.

In recent years of administering the treatment, it has been observed that many more patients are voluntarily opting for the treatment. This provides a wider pool of patient data to base the success rate if any of the treatment and also to monitor whether there is any further degeneration or progression of the disease. Interestingly, several doctors who administered stem cell therapy to patients have also mentioned that after the stem cell therapy, the strength of the limb muscles of the proximal upper limb and distal upper limb of the patients started to improve after three months of the treatment. This seems to be like a step forward in finding a plausible treatment approach.

Several patients along with their parents who travel for stem cell therapy in India from countries like Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nigeria, etc. for treatment have found that there is some level of improvement which was otherwise not obtained by conventional treatment like occupational and physical therapy.

Stem cell therapy ? promising yet not widely used

A three-stage procedure involves stem cell therapy. The bone marrow is removed from the patient's body in the first step. The stem cells are then isolated, treated and concentrated for treatment in a laboratory. Finally, re-injection or implantation of stem cells into the body is done. To know about stem cell therapy, click on this video link, where Dr Anant Bagul, a renowned stem cell expert in India elaborates in details about stem cells and the potential it has in treating several diseases.

Stem cell therapy in India is not yet approved by the Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR) as a commercially viable treatment. It is considered an 'experimental' technique in which patients sign a document acknowledging the risks and possible benefits. As more work is supported by ICMR, it will profit more people.

Though the initial treatment results of stem cell therapy are astonishingly great, it is yet to be globally accepted as a standard treatment for muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular disorders. Several stem cell experts in India are also offering stem cell therapy with holistic neuro-rehabilitation HBOT and Ozone Therapy for patients with autism and cerebral palsy. Here is a video where he goes on to explain about stem cell therapy and its promising results in several cases.

Stem cell therapy is a highly complicated method of treatment. The cost of stem cell therapy in India depends on various medical factors such as the type of stem cell treatment, cell type, needed number of stem cells, amount of stem cells, hospital stay, pre-treatment investigations, etc. People around the world prefer India as it has become the centre of medical tourism for highly affordable stem cell therapy. The cost of treatment here is significantly lower than it would cost in western countries along with the waiting period and very expensive logistics costs.