The Future is Now: Stem cell therapy for autism?

I came across this press release today which claims impressive results using stem cell therapy to treat Multiple Sclerosis.

It's not uncommon for alternative health clinics to treat a variety of unrelated disorders but it is becoming more common to see autism added to the list of treatable disorders.

Accordingly the use of the implant will be extended to other conditions, besides MS namely Alzheimer's, strokes, juvenile diabetes type I, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), macular degeneration also in children/adolescents with autism and Rett's syndrome.

And of course anti-aging.

There is also growing interest in using the Implant as an anti-aging/aging-control procedure, placenta having gained already the reputation of being "the Fountain of Youth from the Womb!"

Further in the press release we find the name of this Las Vegas doctor and his revolutionary approach to stem cell therapy.

Alfred T. Sapse MD "(Ret) the world wide rights to a proprietary technology titled Amnion Stem Cells, Telomerase Enhanced Placenta Implant (The Implant)."

Who is this Dr. Sapse and how did he get started in medicine?

An Alfred T. Sapse is listed as Co-Producer for the film Solar Force, A futuristic thriller about a cop from the moon who is sent to Earth to find a stolen chemical, capable of restoring its destroyed enviroment.....

If it's the same Alfred T Sapse his experience with Science Fiction may come in handy for his stem-cell gig. In 2003 he came up with a way to treat depression in children with HIV. A drug called VIRUCORT 50, which is mostly Procaine. No word on the outcome of the "clinical trial" mentioned in the press release but it may be published in Romania.

The WALL STREET REPORTER lists Dr. Sapse as a retired M.D. but he's listed as an ophthalmologist elsewhere, which may explain his choice in glasses.

During the conversation appellant said he was an "M.D.," he was a physician, he was an ophthalmologist, he was a medical doctor, he had taught medicine at UCLA, at one time he was on the staff of Cedars Hospital, and he had since given up this practice to devote full time to the investigation of a drug called "Gerovital H-3." The treatment he was advertising, he said, consisted of a person going to Baja, Mexico, some six miles into Mexican territory, since the drug was not legal for use in the State of California, and individuals would have to go to Mexico to receive the treatment.

Uh Oh, this is starting to sound worrisome.

Appellant testified without contradiction that he obtained an M.D. degree from the University of Bucharest, Romania, that he practiced in the field of geriatrics for about 10 years, that he then trained in opthalmology in Romania, Israel and Switzerland and practiced in that field in Israel and Switzerland. He further testified that he had engaged in research at various institutions in the United States, had received diplomas and certificates made out to "Alfred Sapse, M.D." and had published articles in medical and scientific journals. He stated that he had rendered no services as a private physician since 1976, that he formed GeroTours as a company to help people who needed Gerovital H-3 to take it in Mexico, and that he is president of International Health Resorts, a publicly held company which is the successor of GeroTours.

I don't know very much about the current state of medicine regarding stem-cell therapy but I was under the impression that it hasn't been approved for treatment of medical conditions in the U.S. I wonder if things are different in Vegas.....Strike that. I know things are different in Vegas, but I didn't realize they are exempt from laws governing stem cell use in humans.

I thought you would have to travel to Mexico or China to receive stem cell infusions.

We are aware of about eight children diagnosed with autism who have received a cord stem cell treatment in Mexico. The parents report that the children have improved somewhat in socialization, such as increased eye contact and social interaction. One child started giggling within a couple of days of the treatment

Giggling? Wow, this stuff must really work!

Here is a list Research on Umbilical Cord Stem Cells and Autism but it looks more like random autism research and a bunch of stuff that may or may not be related to autism. I'm not sure how any of this is addressed by stem cell infusions but I don't pretend to be a Romanian-trained-Las Vegas-ophthalmologist-retired-M.D. so I may have missed that part. I did learn the answer to the question What are Stem Cells?

A: Mysterious, magical, life altering, life enhancing, life prolonging, life saving, wonder cells! Of course!

Is it just me or does some of this sound kind of "out there"? I mean, parents aren't really thinking about doing this, are they?

From http://www.autisticsociety.org/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=749

As a doctor with an autistic child, it is not unusual for me to receive calls from other parents seeking my medical opinion. So a few weeks ago, I was asked about stem cell therapy. The parents of this autistic child were very excited as it seemed that a specialist from Switzerland was willing to treat their son with stem cell therapy. This therapy, it seemed, gave a very good prognosis for a cure if the child was young (for age three years, the cure is supposedly 100%) but since the child is already nine years old, there is no guarantee of a cure but there is supposedly still a very good chance of recovery with absolutely no risk. A guarantee of total safety. .....

Read more on the Autism Diva Blog

Has anyone tried (or looked into) stem cell treatment with Dr. Steenblock and Dr. Ramirez? This treatment (using cord cells rather than embryonic cells) has been used with apparently amazing success for children with CP and brain damage disorders. Some have begun to walk! They are just starting treating autistic children. I should probably wait to get more feedback on how it goes, but [my child] is 10 1/2 and I don't have a minute to waste. I've read the background info (20 years of treatments with no apparent side effects, other than the monetary kind). I'm thinking of biting the bullet and going in January. Dr. Steenblock is in Mission Viejo and works with Dr. Ramirez in Tijuana.

Unfortunately, I won't be at all surprised to hear of parents flying off to other countries to have their autistic children treated with stem cells. I won't be surprised to hear that some of the chelation doctors in this country start to offer some form of stem cell therapy, that probably isn't stem cell therapy at all but some telomerase treated cell extract or homeopathic tonic not subject to FDA regulations.

Nothing surprises me any more.