treatment

Treatment with M2-like macrophages and other cells

Briefly about macrophages

Macrophages have key role players in tissue reparation. They have neuroprotective effect and stimulate axonal growth and myelination. We developed method of M2 macrophages generation with significant regenerative potential. Use of M2 macrophages is safe and effective method of Cerebral Palsy treatment. You can read more about our results and get more detailed information about macrophages in the corresponding page.

Treatment technique

We accept patients from 1,5 year old (adults included). During treatment patients must have no acute respiratory infection symptoms and no chronic condition complications.
Duration of staying in hospital - 10 days.
On the next day after admission, we install peripheral catheter or subclavian catheter anesthetized ( one or another we decide individually for patient case) and get 50-100ml peripheral blood sample , amount depends on patient's weight.
Next, we send samples to Institute of Clinical Immunology of Russian Academy on Medical Sciences, Novosibirsk, RF.
Period of M2 macrophages cultivation is 5-7 days (individually for each patient).
After 7-8 days after cultivation we do anesthetized endolumbar introduction of cells. Endolumbar introduction (injection in the lumbar portion of the spinal cord, lumbar puncture). Currently, it's the most effective way to transport cells to brain. Neither intravenous, nor subcutaneous introduction do not provide enough cells into brain to start reparative processes. After 1-2 days patient can be discharged from the hospital.
Amount of injections is individual. Make a infusion of three to ten times, as clinically proven cumulative effect of macrophages. It depends on the patient's health condition after introduction of cells and clinical effects. The clinical effects are spasticity decreasing, rising of physical activity, spasm attack reduction, in psycho-motor development for children with bulbar disorders are drooling decreasing, pharyngeal effect arising, children begin to hold head, seat.

Procedure description:

1. Endolumbar introduction
Anesthetized, patient in a sidewise position, after cleaning surgery field for 3 times, puncture through skin on L4-L5 level in lower back with special needle ( there is no spinal cord there , so procedure is safe and no complications and consequences expected). After we recieved a sample of cerebrospinal fluid from needle, we inject suspension with cultivated cells, approximately 2 ml (there are a few millions of cells in 2ml (amount is individual)). After procedure we put adhesive napkin on the surgery field. That is the final step of procedure. Some pain syndrome, nagging pain in legs after procedure may occur, these sypthomes are cut short after 1 or 2 days.

Possible reactions on cells introduction:

1. Temperature rising.
2. Skin reddening, excessive sweating as a result of vegetative reactions.
3. Vommiting possible.

All listed symptoms possible in 50% of cases. To reduce these symptoms some medicals prescibed: Dexason, Cerucal, Lasix.

You can read about results on Results page.

2. Neurometabolic therapy
It's the most effective method of CP and organic diseases of CNS treatment. Procedure is analogous to macrophages introduction - lumbar puncture. With lumbar puncture suspension of neurometabolic cells injects, they have stimulating effect on nerve tissue. This therapy operates selectively on brain stimulating servived nerve cells, which are ready to get functions of not working cells, unlike macrophages , which operates systematically.

Effect is noticeable right after procedure in spasticity and drooling decreasing. After 1 month improvement in psycho and motor area can be noticed, highly positive affection on lowering frequency of spasm attacks. This procedure we recommend for children with CP and permanent or frequent spasm attacks. Duration of treatment with this therapy is 5 days. We use this therapy for 15 years and got some not bad results.

3. Treatment with cytokines
We started this method recently, results are in processing stage so far.

Infantile cerebral palsy

Infantile cerebral palsy is a broad term, comprises few different symptome complexes, which have similar manifestations and causes of appearance:

• develop in perinatal period , so disorders arise before, during, or immediately after birth
• linked with organic harm of brain and/or spinal cord strucures
• most often charactised with disorders of uncontroled muscles and motor activity, but also movement coordination, vision, hearing, speach and psyche can be affected
• they are chronic and nonprogressive
• not hereditary, not infectious
• give in to rehabilitation, which greatly increases the quality of patient's life and socialize them to some extent.

Orthopedic effects of CP

By many causes, orthopedic complications of CP are first rank symptoms in motor activity disorders, and by eliminating them, we can, in literal sense, put children on their feet. Highest value in pathogenesis of effects of this type have dystrophic processes of skeletal muscles, which forms rough cicatrical tissue with multiple contractures and causes nearest joint and bones deformations afterwards. It causes not only movement disorder, but also provides persistent pain syndrome and forms patient's antalgic (forced) positions. Muscles contractures are further limit ability to move, which is already hard, thus orthopedic effects of CP treatment have special place in a common patient's recovery process.

Other effects of CP

Symptomatology in this disease can be very different: from barely noticeable to complete invalidization. Depends on degree of CNS injury. Beyond those listed symptoms, there also can be some specific signs of deasease:

• pathological muscle tone
• uncontrolable movements
• delay in mental growth
• spasms
• speech, hearing, vision disorders
• troubles with swallowing
• defecation and urination disorders
• emotional problems.

Risk factors and causes of CP

Main cause of CP - dying or malformation in development of some brain area, caused in infancy or before birth. In summary there are more than 100 factors for infant, that can cause CP pathologies. They groupped into 3 big categories by:

• Pregnancy process
• Birth process

Adaptation process to external environment of infant during first 4 weeks of life (this period extended to 2 years in some publications).
Statistically, from 40 to 50% of all children with CP were born prematurely. Premature infants particularly vulnerable, because they born with underdeveloped organs and systems, which increases the risk of brain damage from hypoxia (oxygen deficiency). Asphyxia during birth process is only 10% of all cases, and greater value for disease growth have mother's hidden infection, because it has toxic effect on baby's brain. Other common risk factors:

• big baby
• wrong baby presentation during pregnancy
• mother's narrow pelvis
• premature separation of placenta
• rhesus incompatibility
• precipitate labor
• drug labor induction
• induction labor with piercing amniotic sac.

There several causes of CP after birth:

• severe infections (meningitis, encephalitis, acute herpes infection)
• lead poisoning, head injuries
• accidents resulting in brain hypoxia ( drowning, airway obstruction with pieces of food or foreign items ).

We cannot fail to note that all risk factors are not absolute and most of them can be arrested or minimized their harmful effects on the child's health.

CP types

There is classification depending on distinct symptoms and what area of brain affected (by Semenova K.A.):

Spastic diplegia (Little's Disease) is a widespread form of CP, 40-80% in common statistics. Responsible for affecting limbs motor activity areas of brain, resulting to partly or full paralyzation of legs (in most cases) and hands.
Double hemiplegia expressed with most severe symptomes. Brain hemispheres or totally whole brain affected at this type of CP. There is limbs muscle stiffness, children can't hold head, stay on their feet, seat.
Hemiparetic form of CP. Affected one of brain hemispheres with cortex and subcortial strucures, which are responsible for motor activity. One side of body suffer (limbs hemiparesis), cross to affected hemisphere.
Hyperkinetic form (up to 25% of patients). Subcortial strucures affected. Expressed in hyperkinesis - involuntary movements, increased symptomatology associated with fatigue and excitement. This type of CP can be rarely found in pure form, in most cases, it is founded in combination with spastic diplegia.
Atonic (Atonic-astatic) form. Cerebellum affected. There is muscle atony, so movement coordination and balance suffer most.

Infantile Cerebral Palsy treatment

CP treatment is lifelong multilevel process, oriented on functions support and recovery, which were disordered by disease. Generally speaking, term "treatment" not suitable here, because disease cannot be cured completely, forecast depends on form of CP. Disabled person with CP in many cases can live normal life in society.

In childhood, especially in 8 years old, parents must do their best in rehabilitation of their child. The reason is that brain actively develop and healthy areas can take lost or disordered functions upon themselves. Sooner the treatment and rehabilitation of CP started, more succesfully it will be.

CP treatment is principally symptomatical and focuses on maximum development of motor skills for each child individually. Therapy must be based on the following principals:

Early beginning. Ideally, diagnosis and treatment starting in maternity hospital. We are ready to propose you newest and modern treatment CP technologies.Succession.Complexity and continuity. All together and parents efforts also, must provide maximum restoration and correction effect, which means not only motor skills development, but also speech, communicative and intellectual skills.
Treatment methods which must be included:

- Massage
- Physiotherapy
- Therapeutic exercise
- Bobath therapy
- Vojta therapy
- Using auxiliary devices ( verticalizer, orthoses , etc )
- Sessions with speech therapist and psychologist
- Using advanced cells technologies

There are medication and surgical treatment if necessary.

Prevalence of Cerebral Palsy

On present day CP has key place in chronic childhood diseases structure. In worldwide statistics, 1.7-7 out of 1000 children have this disease, it's 2.5-5.9 in Russia. In some country this number is greater, for example in 1966 year in France it was 8. Number increasing associated not only with environmental degradation, but with progress in perinatal and neonatal medicine also. Today prematurely born babies can be successfully nursed even with 500 gram weight. As it well known, prematurity is one of the main risk factor for CP.

Dear parents! There is no cure for CP, but it is possible to get good results in treatment aimed to increase quality of life. Medicine don't stand still, every year developing new methods of treatment. Maybe there will be new mothods developed to cure CP. But you need to start with something. Don't trust those people who say that they can cure CP completely - it's quackery. Even we, people with huge experience of CP treatment, can say that on present day there is no cure for CP, no complete recovery, but we can get good results in psychic and motor activity, child can adapt to everyday life, lighten parents care.