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Saturday, February 15, 2014

Cord Blood Stem Cells Used to Treat Cerebral Palsy in Kids



by Dave Andrusko

 By the time I’d finished the third paragraph of “Medical trial offers Michigan families hope,” I knew I had to forward the story to Dr. David Prentice, who knows pretty much all there is to know about stem cell research. Written by Shawn Lewis of the Detroit News, it is a wonderfully inspiring story about Andrew Kijek, who will be infused with his own umbilical cord blood stem cells on Friday.

Andrew, who is 11, has spastic cerebral palsy and cannot crawl, walk, talk, hold his head upright. or control his muscles.

His mother, however, is able to see the bigger picture.

“He’s already perfect,” Maureen Kijek of Shelby Township, told Lewis after a recent physical therapy session. “We just want him to be happy.”

A clearly pleased Dr. Prentice got back to me immediately. He explained that the results of other trials and results, including from ongoing trials at Duke University and Georgia Health Sciences University, have been very encouraging.

“It’s wonderful to see more doctors recognize the potential of adult stem cells from umbilical cord blood for treating cerebral palsy in young children,” he said. “This is such a needed and simple application, and many young lives could be influenced by using these adult stem cells from cord blood.”  Dr. Prentice cited the example of little Chloe Levine.


continue reading at http://www.lifenews.com

 Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. He frequently writes Today’s News and Views — an online opinion column on pro-life issues.

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