The statement of Indian doctors caused a wave of criticism
Stem cells against Down Syndrome
Evgenia Efimova, Vesti
Specialists of the Nutech Mediworld clinic, located in New Delhi, India, claim to have used stem cells to treat Down syndrome. As noted, up to 14 people took part in the study.
"As far as we know, this is the first time that stem cells have been used to treat Down syndrome," says clinic manager Jyoti Titus.
Such a statement caused alarm among many experts. Since specialists studying Down syndrome or stem cells do not understand how they are able to cure such a condition. Let's explain that Down syndrome is a genetic disease caused by the presence of an additional chromosome.
"There is no point from the point of view of biology in using such cells. In addition, their use may increase the risk of side effects in infants," says Professor John Rasko from the International Society for Cellular Therapy.
Today, clinically proven stem cell treatment is just beginning to become available (many studies were required before its use was allowed). The first therapy of this kind, suitable for use and having received the appropriate permission from regulatory authorities, was launched last year in Japan. A number of other research groups are conducting other experimental work related to stem cell treatment, but within the strict norms of clinical trials.
Meanwhile, hundreds of clinics around the world already offer stem cell therapies (miracle therapy is well-known to everyone, which means there will be demand for it). But they were not subjected to a thorough inspection by the regulatory authorities. According to the publication The New Scientist (Clinic claims it has used stem cells to treat Down's syndrome), the medical director of the Nutech Mediworld clinic, Geeta Shroff, has had a patent for the treatment method used since 2007. Its presence suggests that the cells used in the clinic can be useful for saving from more than 70 types of diseases – from Down syndrome to Alzheimer's disease and even vegetative states.
It should be noted that today most therapies for children with Down syndrome focus on issues of support, including speech and behavioral treatment. But in a study published by Shroff last year, it is reported that a child with such a syndrome developed a better understanding of what is happening around, improved the muscle tone of the limbs and the ability to recognize his relatives after the procedure of introducing stem cells into his body (Human Embryonic Stem Cells in the Treatment of Patients With Down Syndrome: A Case Report // Journal of Medical Cases, 2016).
Critics found several flaws in the work.
"There was no data matching for other people with Down syndrome. And it has not been shown that such therapy had any effect. Thus, the author has no reason to claim that such injections bring any benefit," says Elizabeth Fisher from University College London.
In response to her , Titus retorts: since no other treatment was carried out, it is obvious that the improvements in the child were caused by stem cell therapy.
"The baby started babbling and crawling, his facial features also changed," says the clinic manager. She cites the example of a boy who lives in Singapore, now he is three years old. "He continues to develop skills appropriate to his age," adds Titus.
Shroff's study notes that she injected cells obtained from donor embryos into his blood, back muscles and under the skin, as well as as a nasal spray.
"Stem cells have the ability to repair or regenerate, and this is the reason for the improvement of the child's condition," says Titus.
"The author of the work doesn't even seem to understand what such cells do. And what's even worse, we now know that they treated 14 children, not one," Fischer criticizes the work.
According to Victor Tybulewicz from the Francis Crick Institute in London, there is no obvious way that would allow such treatment to work. And to get at least some effect, it would be necessary to inject neural stem cells into the patient's brain, he says.
However, in any case, this is an alien genetic material, which means that the children's body had to give an immune response to this kind of introduction. The consequences of the reaction from the immune system to treatment can be very different (the development of autoimmune diseases is not excluded).
It is known that not only the Nutech Mediworld clinic provides such services. According to an analysis conducted by Rasco last year, 417 websites advertising stem cell treatment were identified. And 187 of them were linked to 215 clinics in the USA, another 35 websites were linked to various organizations in India.
It should be noted that in this country, ten years ago, national standards for clinical research and treatment with stem cells were prescribed. However, they are not legally binding.
Titus promises to soon publish a new article in a peer-reviewed scientific publication with a large amount of research data.
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06.02.2017