Is Stem Cell Treatment for Ataxia Effective?

Since 2005, we have been developing comprehensive stem cell treatment protocols for ataxia to overcome the limitations of conventional therapies. In our protocols, stem cells are combined with specialized therapies for ataxia that not only focus on helping the patient to cope with their symptoms, but also treat the direct cause of the symptoms by promoting the healing of the brain/spinal cord injury. We believe that our comprehensive treatment approach for ataxia gives our patients the best chances of improvements, allowing for a better quality of life. Our stem cell treatment program can be applied to different types of ataxia including SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA6, AOA1, Friedreich ataxia, ataxia caused by brain injury and more.

Reversing the symptoms of ataxia!

Ataxia is a medical condition caused by loss of function in the cerebellum and and/or dysfunction of its pathways (brain stem, spinal cord). In most cases, the disease is caused by genetic mutation (hereditary ataxia) with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) being the most common.
The cerebellum acting as a coordination center in the brain explains why patients diagnosed with ataxia progressively develop symptoms such as gait/walking instability, dysarthria (slurred speech) and individuals affected may begin to fall without warning. The progression of the disease may later lead to fatigue, swallowing impairment, tremors, reduced coordination, decreased mental alertness and unpaired motor functions.

Few conventional treatment options are available for patients diagnosed with ataxia, which mostly focus on alleviating the symptoms. None of them are actually treating the loss of neurological function caused by cell degeneration in the cerebellum, brain stem and/or spinal cord. Stem cells have the ability to regenerate injured cells in the body, helping to reduce/reverse the symptoms and allowing ataxia patients to improve.

What improvements from our treatment?

The purpose of our stem cell treatment is to restore neurological function in the brain/spinal cord lesion area, thus, various kinds of improvement are possible after our treatment and our past patients have experienced the following:

  • Better balance and coordination
  • Reduced fatigue
  • Improved speech
  • Decreased tremors
  • Improved motor function
  • Better swallowing
  • Decreased neuropathic pain
  • Improved mental alertness

*It is important to remember that improvements experienced by patients diagnosed with hereditary ataxias may not be permanent, as stem cell treatments do not currently have any influence on the genetic origin of these specific types of ataxia. In such cases, periodic treatments may be required to keep a stable condition. Finally, as for any medical treatment, improvements cannot be guaranteed.