Clinical Case of Effective Fetal Stem Cells Treatment in a Patient with Autism Spectrum Disorder

There are certain limitations in modern pharmacotherapy and rehabilitation psychotherapy for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Existing therapeutic approaches are not able to assure a complete cure for the patients with ASD. Stem cell therapy is one of the promising and innovative methods that has recently gained popularity. To objectively assess the treatment effectiveness in medicine, both standardized psychiatric diagnostic methods and the instrumental investigations have been efficiently used. The neuroimaging methods are among them, especially, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor MR imaging (DTI); electroencephalography (EEG) and evoked cognitive potentials; dynamic monitoring of the treatment results. All these methods allow objectively evaluating the effects of stem cell therapy. This case report describes a clinical case of successful treatment with application of fetal stem cells in a child with ASD, complicated by the cognitive epileptiform disintegration. The child's general condition and assessment of positive changes by the caregivers were monitored during a period of 12 months. During one year of child’s observation, the family noticed significant improvements proved by the results of the ATEC questionnaire, EEG data and the fractional anisotropy (FA) results. The presented clinical case demonstrates the potential of fetal stem cell (FSC) therapy as an effective treatment method for children with ASD, which is also confirmed by the obtained objective results.