Families travel to China for cerebral palsy stem-cell treatments May 14, 2009

Two American families are in the news recently for their decision to forego American doctors and science in favor of treatments in China for their children afflicted with cerebral palsy. President George Bush’s ban on embryonic stem-cell research has set American scientists behind their international counterparts in this promising line of research.

The two toddlers will travel the more than 6,000 miles to China to undergo treatments using stem-cells obtained from donated umbilical-cord blood.

The treatment is still experimental but the stakes are high. Without improvement, the toddlers will likely never walk or grasp objects.

President Barack Obama favors looser restrictions on stem-cell research and is currently moving in that direction. However, it will likely take years for American scientist to match the progress seen overseas and the children’s parents don’t want to wait that long.

Stem-cells posses the ability to become almost any type of cell, including nerve tissue cells. Embryonic stem-cells can become a wider range of cells than cord-blood stem-cells, but the hope is that the stem-cells introduced into the children will grow into new nerve tissue cells and will repair some of the damage that causes the children’s cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy generally occurs from damage to the brain in the womb or early infancy. It can affect coordination and muscle movement.