by Donna Gates for BodyEcology.com
It all started with a conversation...stem cell therapy could be a promising treatment for autism.
Many of you know that my personal mission is to end childhood disease and illness so that our children can live the full, happy, healthy lives that they deserve. Decades ago, I would not have known that my own quest for better health, coupled with my degrees in Early Childhood Development and Counseling, would bring me to this mission to help children heal.
Along the way, I have been privileged to work with other dedicated professionals who share my mission. Two of them are Dr. Leonard Smith and Dr. Neil H. Riordan.
Ever searching for answers to treat and prevent autism, we began to look at the promise of stem cell therapy combined with the Body Ecology program. On their own, both stem cell therapy and Body Ecology are creating results. Together, we believed, there could be even greater benefits.
Dr. Neil Riordan, a specialist in stem cells, and Dr. Leonard Smith got together with some colleagues and wrote a paper, Stem Cell Therapy for Autism and since then, over 30 children have been treated at the Institute for Cellular Medicine (ICM) in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Why Is Stem Cell Therapy Important?
You may be familiar with bone marrow transplants, the adult stem cell therapy that has been used for over 40 years to treat leukemia, lymphoma and several genetic blood disorders.1
Scientists are excited about stem cell therapy because of the potential to treat:
* Heart disease
* Cancer
* Diabetes
* Osteoarthritis
* Rheumatoid arthritis
* Stroke
* Burns
* Spinal cord injury
* Alzheimer’s disease
* Parkinson’s disease
* Paralysis
Stem Cell Controversy
Stem cell therapy has been historically surrounded in controversy because of ethical considerations for human embryos. But there is an important difference in the kind of stem cells used to treat autism...because these stem cells don’t harm human life.
Today, there are 3 kinds of stem cells being used in medical research and treatment:
1. Embryonic stem cells - taken from embryos as young as 5 days old (these are the stem cells involved in the stem cell controversy).
2. Cord blood (Umbilical cord stem cells) - taken from the umbilical cord that a woman donates after her baby is born (which would have otherwise been discarded).
3. Adult stem cells - taken from adult organs or tissue, such as bone marrow.
Each type of stem cell has its own purpose, but the stem cells used in the treatment of autism are cord blood (umbilical cord) stem cells that do NOT cause harm to human life.
Harvesting the umbilical cord stem cells does not harm humans or embryos and does not involve cloning. Umbilical cord stem cells are collected from a baby’s umbilical cord AFTER the baby is born. The umbilical cord would have been discarded anyway as part of the afterbirth, so there is no harm to the baby or mother.
This is why cord blood is often called “ethical stem cell therapy.”
With 15,000 people in the US in need of stem cell transplants for disease treatment per year, some parents are even considering collecting cord blood from their newborns at birth and placing it in a public cord blood bank.2 In this way, they have more disease treatment options throughout the child’s lifetime.
To learn more about stem cells and stem cell therapy, read: Autism, Stem Cells and What the World URGENTLY Needs to Know: The Body Ecology Perspective.
A Trip to Costa Rica to Treat Autism with Ethical Stem Cell Therapy
Recently, Dr. Smith and I visited Dr. Riordan at ICM in San Jose, Costa Rica.
The reason for our visit was to accompany a mom in our BEDROK (Body Ecology Diet Recovering Our Kids) community, Sara McGregor, as her two children (Carolyn, age 8 and Barrett, age 6) were treated for autism with cord blood therapy.
Since stem cell therapy is still in the experimental stages, FDA rules require more studies before allowing treatment in the US. However, countries outside the US (like Mexico, Costa Rica and China) are moving faster ahead on providing this kind of treatment because of its tremendous benefits.
Whether for reasons of cost or for cutting edge treatments, medical tourism is on the rise.
Accompanying Sara and her two beautiful children on their trip to Costa Rica was my first such experience with medical tourism. Not sure what to expect, I was pleased with the ease of the trip and the quality and professionalism of the doctors at ICM.
Curious about Dr. Leonard Smith’s views of ICM and the doctors, he told me that the facility and doctors ranked among the highest standards in the US.
It was easy to agree, the clinic was just as clean and well-equipped as you’d expect from a good hospital in the US. The doctors, many of whom were educated in the US, were kind and caring to Carolyn and Barrett, making what could have been a scary experience quite gentle and easy.
As for medical tourism, there were many choices for the McGregor family. San Jose boasts all the conveniences and entertainment of a large city. A twenty-minute drive from the airport brought us to a hotel that was right across the street from ICM.
Our hotel had full kitchens so that we could make the Body Ecology meals.
With Body Ecology, Carolyn and Barrett are benefiting from natural treatment for autism that can only improve the potential of stem cell therapy.
Families who go to ICM for stem cell therapy find that there is time for trips to a nearby butterfly farm, shopping excursions and exploring San Jose.
Ethical Stem Cell Therapy and Body Ecology Results
The doctors at ICM, just like any doctor, believe in healthy nutrition as part of a healing program. While at ICM, we met many others undergoing stem cell treatment for a variety of conditions and noted differences in diet, some drinking Coca-Cola and eating processed foods.
Having discussed Body Ecology with the ICM doctors, they felt even more committed to the potential of combining these two avenues for healing.
So what about the results?
Just like the Body Ecology program, stem cell therapy is making changes deep inside a person’s body. These changes are akin to a tree in spring: you start to see small, hardly noticeable changes at first, like tiny buds coming out on the branches. Eventually, the tree is in full bloom.
Everyone expects to know more about Carolyn and Barrett’s results in 3 months, so we’ll keep you updated.
While stem cell therapy is still experimental, Dr. Leonard Smith reports that about two-thirds of the 30 children treated since November 2007 have experienced beneficial results, some more remarkable than others.
For the time being ICM has decided to suspend their treatment of autistic children (except for the ones who had been treated already) until a formal study can be established. However, the initial experiments show exciting promise for helping restore damaged brain cells. When a child is vaccinated and they do not have an immune system they can become infected by a vaccine instead of immunized.
In the meantime, my trip resulted in something more than a first hand view of stem cell therapy. I returned with a newfound admiration for the courage and commitment of the parents who are fighting for solutions for their children with autism. I returned inspired by the commitment of doctors, like Dr. Leonard Smith and Dr. Neil Riordan, who are looking for answers with modern medical technology.
And, yes, I returned with a sustained belief in Body Ecology’s ability to treat and prevent autism by providing much needed antioxidants, opening detoxification pathways and boosting immunity.
For more information on how to treat and prevent autism naturally from Donna Gates, Dr. Leonard Smith and other experts: listen to The Natural Autism Solution, a 12-CD set recorded at a 3-day seminar for parents of children with autism, Asperger’s, ADD and other childhood disorders. Learn premier natural strategies for helping children overcome childhood illness, disease and disorders.
You may also want to attend one of our summer session live 3-day training: Taking the Mystery out of Autism.
Sources
1 Frequently Asked Questions. Stem Cell Information. The National Institutes of Health.
http://stemcells.nih.gov/StemCells/Templates/StemCellContentPage.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7bA604DCCE-2E5F-4395-8954-FCE1C05BECED%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2finfo%2ffaqs%2easp&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest#excited
2Cord Blood Registry Launches “Heroic” Campaign to Increase Awareness
of Medical Benefits of Cord Blood Stem Cells. Business Wire, May 2007.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070523005586&newsLang=en
1 Frequently Asked Questions. Stem Cell Information. The National Institutes of Health.
http://stemcells.nih.gov/StemCells/Templates/StemCellContentPage.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7bA604DCCE-2E5F-4395-8954-FCE1C05BECED%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2finfo%2ffaqs%2easp&NRCACHEHINT=NoModifyGuest#excited
2 Cord Blood Registry Launches “Heroic” Campaign to Increase Awareness
of Medical Benefits of Cord Blood Stem Cells. Business Wire, May 2007.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070523005586&newsLang=en
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