Why We Choose Not to Use Embryonic Cells in Autism Treatment?
Embryonic cells are one source of stem cells and were often used in the early days of stem cell research; however, this is usually no longer the case.
- The Potential of Stem Cells in Treating Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Understanding Different Types of Stem Cells
- Ethical Considerations in Using Embryonic Stem Cells
- Safety and Efficacy Concerns with Embryonic Cells
- Why We Prioritize Adult MSCs Over ESCs in Autism Treatment?
- In conclusion
The stem cells autism treatment used by clinics like Swiss Medica uses only 'adult' cells (i.e. stem cells from a human donor and not from an embryo).
In particular, Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) are used due to their ethical viability and the even greater promise seen in MSC exosome (MSC-exo) therapies in recent years.
The Potential of Stem Cells in Treating Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Traditional autism treatment can include behavioral therapy and physical treatments like mental health medication and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Positive impacts are often quite limited and negative side effects are commonly observed.
Stem cell treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been shown to be much more effective than behavioral therapy alone. One study found that a combination therapy including umbilical MSCs achieved an improvement of nearly 38% on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS).
In contrast, a control group receiving conventional behavioral therapy showed an improvement of less than 14% on the CARS scale, highlighting the level of enhancement achieved when delivering stem cells intravenously to autistic participants.
Understanding Different Types of Stem Cells
What do we mean by adult vs embryonic stem cells? These are two of the main types of stem cells, with implications for the ethical treatment of autism and other conditions.
Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic stem cells can be derived from the inner mass of embryos that have not yet been implanted into a host. Much early stem cell research relied on the use of embryos. More recently, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were developed by reprograming adult cells to behave like embryonic cells.
Adult Stem Cells
It's a myth that stem cells only exist in embryos. From birth throughout our lives, our bodies are continually repairing and replacing damaged tissue. 'Adult' stem cells can be recovered safely from various human tissues, including the umbilical cord of newborns, and can then be activated to stimulate healing and repair in the recipient.
Ethical Considerations in Using Embryonic Stem Cells
Embryonic cells raised ethical concerns, as harvesting the cells leads to the destruction of the embryo. Debate continues as to whether a fertilized human embryo already represents 'a human life' or merely the potential to become one; however, for moral and religious reasons, some people have major objections to the use of embryos in stem cell research.
The Importance of Ethical Compliance in Medical Treatments
Medical ethics expects a certain level of compliance with respect to issues like informed consent. However, some countries (e.g. the United States) have historically operated a waiver of consent where biological materials cannot be directly linked with a donor.
Why MSCs Present a More Ethically Viable Option?
MSCs avoid the ethical concerns associated with the use of embryonic cells. Because MSCs are obtained from 'adult' donors (including those harmlessly recovered from the umbilical cords of newborns) there is no embryo destruction and no debate over the potential destruction of human life.
Safety and Efficacy Concerns with Embryonic Cells
It's important for any healthcare treatment to provide significant benefits, without putting the patient under any unnecessary risks. For example, in treating autism using stem cells, the aim is to avoid some of the side effects seen when using medication and transcranial magnetic stimulation.
When studies report risks of (for example) oncogenesis arising from stem cell treatment, this relates to embryonic cells. Adult MSCs have no such risk of causing cancer in healthy patients.
MSCs: A Safer Alternative with Lower Risk of Adverse Effects
MSCs can be safely extracted from donor umbilical cords and placental tissue, which would normally be discarded after birth. No harm is caused to the donor baby or its mother, making this an ethically sound source of Mesenchymal Stem Cells.
Exosome therapy in particular has an extremely low risk of adverse effects, as MSC-exos do not interact with the recipient's immune system, but can still confer the positive effects that make MSC therapies so desirable.
Why We Prioritize Adult MSCs Over ESCs in Autism Treatment?
For all of the reasons discussed above, adult MSCs are the preferred option in present-day autism therapies. It's worth noting that this is not only an ethical consideration, but also that MSCs provide safe, effective treatment for autism patients, with only mild, short-term side effects and a low risk of any adverse outcomes.
In conclusion
Autism treatment using stem cells is an area of huge promise and is already showing significant benefits in large percentages of patients. Using adult MSCs instead of ESCs allows healthcare providers to uphold their oath to "first, do no harm".