Cure for microcephaly - Part 2

I was wondering whether a combination of stem cell therapy and 3D printing could cure microcephaly - Stem cells to grow the brain and 3D printing to re-adjust the shape and size of the skull once the brain has grown.

I thought of this after reading the following news  3D printing saves a child's life from hyrdocephalus and a few other research papers regarding microcephaly like this one - Gene mutation in microcephaly

I wrote this two-part post just for the sake of sharing my idea and getting some honest feedback about how viable this idea is. I am not a medical student so I do not know much about all this stuff. If there are any medical/ scientific errors in this post please let me know.

After so much reading and researching, I found a few links that actually support my idea.This might remain an idea forever or it might become a treatment option in a few years or maybe decades. There are a lot of different opinions among people regarding the use of stem cells for therapy and in many places it has not been approved of.

For example I found a German website that claims to treat microcephaly using stem cells - Stem cell therapy for microcephaly.

On the other hand , the following links caution us about the false claims regarding stem cell therapy-  link 1 , link 2.

I also found a link that states that microcephaly can be cured through 'in-utero gene therapy' - In-utero gene therapy rescues microcephaly

In the process of searching for information regarding stem cells, I also came across other therapies apart from the standard early intervention program that can benefit a person with microcephaly( and any other brain related injury or insult).

Alternative therapies : 

HBOT- Hyberbaric oxygen therapy - out of which some people have unbelievable improvement while some do not show any positive signs of changes- success story link 1

Aromatherapy - Frankincense oil has the power to heal even traumatic brain injuries.Essential oils and brain injuries , frankincense oil benefits

Music therapy - where the patients are made to play an instrument or to listen to music.

Massage & reflexology

I request anyone who intend to give therapy to their kid to analyse the pros and cons of the method, study the method in and out and then decide whether it will benefit their kid or not.

Thank you for reading through the post. Do you have any information that can be added to this post? If so, please leave a comment below.

Cure for microcephaly - Part 1

According to most of the medical sources I have read through, microcephaly is a permanent condition that is incurable. It is said that the size of the brain cannot be increased but the functionality of the patient can be improved via therapy.

'Impossible' does not exist, at least in medical science. What once was thought to be impossible is possible now, say , growing mini brains on a petri-dish! Who would have ever imagined such things 50 years back?

Link 1

Link 2

Some medical researches are held unethical and against nature , like cloning. Some people treat stem cells in the same way.Cloning and stem cells research are related but not the same.

Cloning is a process by which a genetically identical copy of a gene, or an entire cell or even an organism is produced. A stem cell is a cell in the body or in an embryo that has the capability of turning into many specialized cell types and it can be used to treat diseases and repair body parts.

There are different types of stem cells ranging from the embryonic stem cells found only in the earliest stages of development to adult stem cells that remain in our bodies through out life. Each type of stem cell has its own strengths and drawbacks.

There is a lot of debate going on regarding stem cell therapy. Considering from where an embryonic stem cell is taken, people have strong views about how against nature the process is. Not all stem cell research involves the creation,usage and destruction of embryos.

Click here for Part 2

Microcephaly

What is Microcephaly:

Microcephaly is a clinical finding which is characterized by the measurement of head circumference (HC) less than 3 Standard deviations below the mean for age and gender.

The above statement is the generally accepted definition of microcephaly.

There does not exist a uniform definition for microcephaly. Some medical reference books refer to this condition as less than 2 S.D below the mean and some times even less than 4 S.D is considered.  

Microcephaly is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Unlike other defects , this condition is most often not a primary malformation. Instead , the underlying cause can vary widely, ranging from chromosmal or genetic abnormalites to environmental factors.

MRI of an individual with Normal brain( left)  Vs  a patient with Microcephaly ( right)
source: wikimedia commons

Classification:

Microcephaly has many different types of classification. The most common methods followed are- 

1. Based on the time of onset

2. Based on associated malformations

No particular classification is complete and most of the times many other factors are also considered in determining the reason for microcephaly. I have not gone in-depth with the classification (in this post) because it becomes too complicated to chart it out.

Click on the image to see a bigger picture

Click on the image to see a bigger picture

Do you have any other information to add to this post? If so, please comment below.