Autism Spectrum Disorder – VJRegenMed

Cord blood infusion in children with autism spectrum disorder

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 18:50:03 +0000

Joanne Kurtzberg, MD, Duke University, Durham, NC, describes ongoing research exploring the benefit of umbilical cord blood (UCB) infusion in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An initial open-label Phase I safety study (NCT02176317) in 25 children with ASD revealed that a single infusion of autologous UCB was well tolerated. The double-blind Phase II Duke ACT trial (NCT02847182), which aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a single UCB infusion compared to placebo in 180 children with ASD, failed to meet it’s primary endpoint of improvement in the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-3 (VABS-3) measure of socialization, although improvements were seen in certain patient subsets across various outcome measures. This interview took place at the 2021 World Stem Cell Summit (WSCS).

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Cord tissue-derived MSCs versus cord blood for cell therapy

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 18:50:02 +0000

Joanne Kurtzberg, MD, Duke University, Durham, NC, compares cord blood to cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) as a source for cell therapies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Cord blood can only be delivered in one dose due to a limited amount of cells available, whereas the abundance of cord tissue-derived MSCs in the umbilical cord allow for ongoing, repeated dosing. In terms of mechanisms of action, cord blood-derived therapies function through monocytes, which have the capability to stimulate remyelination in the damaged brain, whereas MSCs appear to function through the modulation of inflammation. This interview took place at the 2021 World Stem Cell Summit (WSCS).

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