Cell Therapy & Down Syndrome Abstracts
Pediatrics 85 (1): 79-84 (1990 Jan)
Cell therapy in children with Down syndrome: A retrospective study
Van Dyke DC; Lang DJ; van Duyne S; Heide F; Chang HJ
Department of Pediatrics, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242
Cell therapy, the administration of freeze-dried or lyophilized cells derived from fetal tissue of animals, has been suggested and accepted by some parents as a treatment for Down syndrome. Such therapy regimens have been purported to ameliorate dysmorphic features and to result in improvement in IQ, motor skills, social behavior, height, language, and memory. Interest in this therapy continues despite a lack of empirical support for its use and its illegality in the United States. In this study, 190 subjects of whom 21 had received cell therapy (from sources external to this study) were studied for 18 variables in the areas of growth, motor development, cognitive development, and adaptive/social status. Comparing the cell-treated group with a control group matched for sex, age, socioeconomic status, and cardiac history showed no statistically significant differences for any of the developmental or growth variables measured. These findings fail to support continued claims of improved functioning following cell therapy in persons with Down syndrome.
Aust Paediatr J 23 (3): 151-156 (1987 Jun)
An evaluation of cell therapy in Down syndrome
Foreman PJ, Ward J
Newcastle College of Advanced Education, Newcastle and Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
A group of children with Down syndrome who were being treated with cell therapy was matched for age and sex with an untreated control group. Comparisons were made between the groups with respect to a number of developmental and physical variables which have been reported to be influenced by cell therapy. Of 55 comparisons made between treated and control groups, two differences were statistically significant. This study failed to show sufficient significant results for the treatment to be regarded as effective.
Pediatric Rev Commun 3: 211-226 (1989)
Cell-therapy (siccacell) in Down's syndrome
Levin S, Armoni M, Schlesinger M
Trisomy 21 1 (1): 3-8 (1985)
Cell therapy and the treatment of Down syndrome: A review of research
Pruess, James B.; Fewell, Rebecca R.
Child Development and Mental Retardation Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
This article reveiews recent research and comment on cell therapy as a treatment for children with Down syndrome. Proponents of this controversial treatment claim that cell therapy results in improved gross motor skills, speech, intelligence, physical appearance, and social development. However, the critics of cell therapy argue that this claim is based upon biased enthusiasm rather than clear-cut evidence. In the first place, the alleged affinity between the cells of a particular organ from an embryonic donor animal and the corresponding organ of a human recipient has not been (and probably cannot be) conclusively demonstrated. Second, cell injections may possible be harmful, although the evidence to date is contradictory. Finally, there is no indication that cell therapy results in anything at all for children with Down syndrome, a conclusion supported by several studies that are summarized in the article. In addition, Dr. Franz Schmid's "documentation" of cell therapy's success is flawed by a lack of information concerning methods of comparision, the absence of independent observers, and the failure to specify uncontrolled conditions that might have influenced the results. In conclusion, the authors of this article recommend that children with Down syndrome are better served by early intervention practices which are more readily available, more reliable, less controversial, and less expensive that cell therapy.
Lancet 2: 234-5 (1964)
Sicca cell treatment in mongolism
Bardon LM