T-Cells, Immune Systems, and Stem Cells

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Curious how bone marrow-derived stem cells can actually reset the inflammatory response of T cells. Has anyone done more research than me on the T cell-stem cell interaction?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... po=18.5484

I am looking at doing a similar procedure in Europe or at a doctor in Bangalore I'm in contact with. I'm curious to possibly learn more about the immune system aspect of stem cell therapy.

Also frustrating that I'm not sure how to get a doctor's opinion on my own level of immune dysfunction + inflammation, prior to committing to an overseas doctor who has a financial incentive to claim this MS treatment can benefit Asperger's/NLD.

Especially intriguing because MS is a progressive inflammatory disease while autism is fairly stable in most cases.

An American with money is considering treatment from a Bangalore doctor who has a financial incentive to claim this MS treatment can benefit Asperger's/NLD.

This seems unwise to me.

    ROFL! Ditto

Wow, I accidently posted this in The Haven. I meant to post it in the main forum.

Anyway, the Bangalore doctor is just one of several I'm looking into. One other is in Europe. There have been studies showing this type of thing working for a variety of related conditions. And I know a guy who got it done for NLD. It didn't cure it--partly because he went about it haphazardly-- but it cut his problems in half at least.

I'll either be dead in a year, or I'll come back with a 30 page post of detailed records and scientific articles demonstrating exactly how I cured my autism and ask for it to be stickied and distributed to the media.

I've had two stem cell procedures and will be having a third before the end of the year. For emphysema. Both were autologous, using my own bone marrow. Stem cells are not a cure-all, they're not magic, they won't cure everything or anything under the sun. They are good for one thing only ... tissue generation/regeneration. They have nothing to do with inflammation per se, and as far as I can figure, they won't help with autism in any way. That's assuming that autism has anything at all to do with tissue, and I can't see any connection. Personally, I think you're buying into some hocus-pocus, just as mentioned above. Do what you said, do your homework. Study, read, ask questions. (In my case, it was/is very certainly a matter of life or death, because emphysema is a terminal disease. It was worth taking a chance with my money because there was nothing to lose EXCEPT money.) I certainly wish you the best, but it's my opinion you're barking up the wrong tree. Good luck with your decision.

Yeah, I am getting some scans done by a sympathetic neurologist in the U.S. covered by military vet Tricare to see if there is "tissue damage" that can be repaired in anyway. The T-cell reprogramming is, I think, something that has to be explored further because, if my condition is an inflammatory disease, repairing the tissue is not going to work long-term. There has to be a way to stop the inflammation as well. The study I linked above was to see if bone marrow stem cells could do this as a side effect of repairing the damaged white matter in MS (damaged white matter is also theorized to be behind Nonverbal Learning Disorder. See Byron Rourke, the preeminent NLD researcher). The results are that, in some cases, bone marrow stem cells can reset the immune system, though the mechanism is not known, neither is it known why it sometimes fails. My American doctor is probably knowledgeable enough to tell me if a relatively stable condition like NLD (vs. a clearly progressive condition like MS), if imaging shows it involves inflammation, is more or less likely to be effectively remedied by the immune resetting shown in SOME of these MS patients.

But until I get the fMRI I am in the process of scheduling (or possibly a SPECT image, I am doing a consultation to see which one would be most useful), it will be impossible to know for sure if stem cell therapy will be viable. My American neurologist states she cannot recommend such a risky, unproven procedure, but she said she will be able to tell me if it's viable based on the results of the fMRI -- a $4000 procedure paid for by YOUR tax dollars.

Last edited by Tyri0n on 10 Jul 2013, 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I doubt you'll find a doctor who isn't active in research to provide any opinions on this, and even those that do the research are likely to be biased. Going for stem-cell treatment now seems high risk with uncertain results. I'd wait for more studies with a focus on ASD and possibly an option to have this done in a reputable place, at least.

Well, I found maybe the 1 American doctor who could help with at least giving practical advice based on unbiased science. Having done all the homework ahead of time, with evidence to support its viability or not, I think going abroad to a reputable clinic -- especially one in Europe -- will be far less risky.

Yeah, stem cell treatment now is high-risk. Every time I think of putting it off into the indefinite future, I get extremely suicidal. And that's because I have atypical depression that does not respond to either medications or therapy (trust me, I've tried). My depression is caused directly by having to live with Nonverbal Learning Disorder and how it makes it impossible for me to enjoy life in any way.

Stem cell procedures have not been approved for anything by the FDA. Thus, they are not legal here. As a matter of fact, they have determined that our own stem cells are considered to be drugs and thus, subject to their regulation. Go figure. But this has actually been upheld by a federal court. So, with the exception of approved clinical trials and research activities, you can't get anything like this in the U.S. There are stem cell clinics in the U.S. but they all involve having the actual procedure done in another country (there are several on the border with Mexico).

Yep, the best ones seem to be in India, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Germany. Of course it's not approved by the FDA. But neither is suicide. It's not like I have a ton of options here since I have a type of depression that is immune to therapy and medications.

Singapore and Germany are nations who are medically and technologically advanced than the United States in many areas, and South Korea is up-and-coming.

Markers for inflammation in your body can actually be measured by simple blood tests that could be ordered by your primary care doctor. My rheumatologist ordered them for me a while ago and they are no big deal, other than the expense if you don't have good insurance.

If you find that you do have high levels of inflammation and, honestly, I would be suprised if you do, unless you have a lot of physical symptoms you have not yet mentioned in this thread, then there are plenty of common-sense measures you can take through diet, deep breathing exercises, etc that can help improve your inflammation levels and immune response. And, it's all stuff that is safe and inexpensive, which I'd be happy to share via PM.

Something else I wanted to mention, OP, is that if you are concerned about having a form of autoimmune disorder or problems with inflammation, it would be best to try to do what you can about it, but not worry to excess beyond that. Stress is one of the worst things for increasing inflammation and causing flare-ups of autoimmune disorders. It's not too great for AS symptoms, either.