Sutter Neuroscience Institute launching trial of cord blood stem cells in autistic children

The Sutter Neuroscience Institute in Sacramento plans to launch groundbreaking research today to discover whether infusing umbilical cord stem cells into the bloodstreams of autistic children will help them overcome debilitating characteristics of the condition.

The clinical trial is the first of its kind to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Dr. Michael Chez, the principal investigator and Sutter's director of pediatric neurology.

One of the world's foremost autism experts at the institute, which is recognized for its practice of pediatric neuroscience, Chez said the research may help identify a valuable new tool in the struggle against autism spectrum disorders, which now affect about one in 88 children nationwide, and one in 54 boys.

"This is an exciting trial, because it's exposing us to the new frontier of stem cells and whether they may have some positive effect on this disease," Chez said. "This is the start of a new age of research in stem cell therapies for chronic diseases such as autism."

Recent research has revealed robust new uses for stem cells. Stem cells, for example, can now be developed from heart muscle in cardiac patients and injected back into the heart for improved functioning. Doctors are also having success using stem cells to treat leukemia and bone marrow diseases.

Autism is the leading cause of delayed development in children, typically surfacing before 3 years of age. The condition is characterized by impaired communication, repetitive thoughts and behavior and difficulty in socialization.

The likelihood of a child's being given a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder increased more than 20 percent from 2006 to 2008, according to a report this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Locally, more than 3,830 students in the four-county Sacramento region were counted as autistic in December 2011, up 13 percent from the previous year, according to state data.

The Sutter clinical trial follows promising research in using cord blood stem cells to help children with cerebral palsy, a brain disorder that shares some characteristics with autism, to improve motor function.

Chez became the point man for developing protocols for the clinical trial over a year ago, after being contacted by Cord Blood Registry, the world's largest cord blood bank. The Bay Area company has collected and frozen 400,000 samples of umbilical cord blood for individuals and families.

The umbilical cord that links a mother's placenta to her fetus is imbued with blood stem cells. Since the 1990s, parents increasingly have opted to have their babies' umbilical cords frozen in storage as a sort of insurance against future disease. The trend now extends to about 5 percent of parents.

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Sutter Neuroscience Institute launching trial of cord blood stem cells in autistic children