Doctors announce trial to cure autism with cord blood

Researchers announced Tuesday the beginning of a FDA-approved clinical trial that uses umbilical cord blood stem cells to cure autism.

Dr. Michael Chez, director of pediatric neurology at Sutter Neuroscience Institute in Sacramento, Calif., said he and his colleagues have been processing the trial for more than a year now, and they have high hopes it will succeed.

What we are looking at, is cases that dont have an obvious genetic link, Chez told FoxNews.com. Patients that we presume something went wrong with their brains, which caused a change to autistic features.

In other words, the trials patients will essentially have no reason to have autism or at least no genetic markers for the disease. This means they must have presumably developed it through another factor, such as the environment or exposure to an infection.

Inspired by Rydr Chez got the idea to treat autism with cord blood stem cells when he observed the cells radically cure a little boy who had cerebral palsy.

Elisa Rudger of Sacramento, Calif., had a normal pregnancy but a difficult delivery. Her son, Rydr, was stuck for seven hours in the birthing canal, so doctors used a vacuum to remove him. At birth, he was not moving or breathing, and he had no brain function. After six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, Rydr was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Rydrs parents chose to bank his cord blood at birth with CBR a cord blood storage company based in Arizona that will provide Chez with participants for his trial in hopes Rydr could one day use it as treatment.

Rydr received his first infusion at 2 years old. This was a child who couldnt walk, talk or eat on his own but he started to crawl immediately.

After the second infusion, he began walking and talking even jumping and running.

I can verify he definitely got better, Chez said. All without extensive therapy.

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Doctors announce trial to cure autism with cord blood