Gabriel and Alex received their Own Cord Blood for Autism

This story presents short YouTube videos from interviews with the parents of two boys who received their own cord blood as therapy for autism. Both Gabriel and Alex participated in the clinical trial run by Dr. Felician Stăncioiu in Bucharest, Romania. This trial is open to children with autism from any country, so long as they have their own cord blood stored in a family bank. Although these two boys live in Romania, their cord blood stem cells had been stored outside Romania, and the cells were shipped to the hospital for their participation in the study. The children in this study received both nutritional supplements as well as a single intravenous infusion of their stem cells. Typically, the children are premedicated against allergic reactions and sedated prior to the infusion. Oftentimes the parent staying in the hospital was able to keep the child calm and reduced the need for sedation. These videos are part of a longer show that was broadcast in Romania on DIGITV on December 29, 2023.

The first video is part of an interview with the father of Gabriel. He explains that prior to the cell therapy, his son was in his own world. Gabriel was always distracted and he was not concerned with his own safety. His social behavior was inappropriate; both in the sense that he would say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and in the sense that he could be too aggressive and even violent towards his younger siblings. Yet at the same time, Gabriel was good with numbers and math. Since receiving the autologous cord blood therapy, Gabriel is less agitated. He has been communicating better and has improved interactions with his younger siblings.

The second and third videos come from interviews with the mother of Alex. Her son did not speak independently at all prior to therapy; he exhibited “echolalia”, which means that he only repeated things that were said to him. The family was pursuing a variety of therapies for autism, especially the behavioral therapy Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Through media presentations about cell therapy, they learned about the option of using cord blood to treat autism, and contacted their cord blood bank. The bank directed them to the clinical trial led by Dr. Felician Stăncioiu.

Alex’s mother has a caution for other parents, to be wary that cell therapy for autism is not a miracle cure. In her words: “We have seen immediate results, I want to say that only the transplant (autologous cord blood) does not cure your child from autism, there is no such thing…. but in addition to therapy, the efforts of the parents and therapists, day by day, with the child, it was like a launching pad, the child learned much faster, easier, much more notions, and he caught up faster what he had to recuperate – delays in cognitive, social, language – there was a giant leap.” Alex’s mother reports that on the second day after the infusion Alex began to speak on his own for the first time, and this was “the greatest joy of my life”.

The full DIGI World TV documentary from which these short videos were cut was arranged by Bogdan Ivanescu, MD MBA, founder of Stem Sure Romania, and can be watched on YouTube.

References:

1. Bulumac B, Stăncioiu F, Mihăilă C. Cord Blood Banking and Autism Therapy in Romania. Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation Newsletter published 2023-02
2. Stancioiu F, Bogdan R, Dumitrescu R. Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) as a Biomarker for Autistic Spectrum Disease (ASD). Life 2023; 13(8):1736. doi: 10.3390/life13081736
3. Stancioiu F, Dumitrescu R, Bogdan R, Ivanescu B. Autologous Cord Blood vs Individualized Supplements in Autistic Spectrum Disease – Results of the CORDUS Study. Preprints 2024; 2024010134.