Neuropsychiatric Disorder Tackled by Innovative Cell Therapy-A Case Report in Autism

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder affecting socialization, communication and behavior. Neuropathology of autism spectrum disorders is poorly understood and may involve impaired connectivity in the brain, selectively affecting parts of the brain forming circuits supporting social behavior. The currently available treatment options do not address the core neuropathology of autism. Hence, it is important to develop a treatment modality for autism at the earliest. Cell therapy is recently emerging as a potential treatment option for autism. We hypothesize that it may assist in the repair of the disrupted neuronal circuit. The neural repair may take place not only by cellular restoration but also by paracrine and immunomodulatory effects. Cellular therapy has shown promising results for various other neurological disorders. We administered autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells, intrathecally in an 11 year old boy diagnosed with autism. He was assessed for a follow up period of eight months wherein his autistic features had reduced. This was objectively supported by improvement in scores of CARS (31 to 25), ISAA (130 to 98), CGI-I (6 to 5) and FIM (104 to 110). This case study may hint towards exploring cell therapy as a potential treatment alternative for autism, in addition to standard approach. A longer period of follow up along with functional imaging may further help us understand the repair of the impaired neuronal circuit at cellular level.