Stem Cell Therapy for Huntington's Disease - Stem Cell Therapy

Stem Cell Therapy for Huntington's Disease Abroad

Huntington's disease is a disease that is inherited and that causes the progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the brain. The disease has a broad impact on a person's functional abilities and usually results in movement, cognitive and psychiatric disorders.

Most people suffering from this disease develop signs and symptoms in their 30s or 40s, but it may emerge earlier or later in life. When Huntington's disease develops before age 20, the condition is called juvenile Huntington's disease. An earlier emergence of the disease often results in a somewhat different set of symptoms and faster disease progression.

Causes of Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is caused by a defect in a single gene that has been inherited. It is an autosomal dominant disorder, which means that a person needs only one copy of the defective gene to develop the disorder.

With the exception of genes on the sex chromosomes, a person inherits two copies of every gene, one from each parent. A parent with a defective gene could pass along the defective copy of the gene or the healthy copy. Each child in the family, therefore, has a 50% chance of inheriting the gene that causes the genetic disorder.

Symptoms of juvenile Huntington's disease

Behavioral changes

• Loss of previously learned academic or physical skills
• Rapid, significant drop in overall school performance
• Behavioral problems

Physical changes

• Contracted and rigid muscles that affect gait (especially in young children)
• Changes in fine motor skills that might be noticeable in skills such as handwriting
• Tremors or slight involuntary movements
• Seizures

Treatment of Huntington's disease

Unfortunately there are no treatments to alter the course of Huntington's disease. But medications can only lessen some symptoms of movement and psychiatric disorders and help a person adapt to changes in his or her abilities for a certain amount of time.

Medication management will evolve over the course of the disease, depending on the overall treatment goals. Also, drugs to treat some symptoms may result in side effects that worsen other symptoms, that is why the treatment goals and plan will be regularly reviewed and updated.

Stem Cell Therapy

Because of their unique biological properties, mesenchymal stem cells have shown tremendous promise in stem cell-based gene therapy approaches in recent years, and applications targeting other neurological diseases.

Gene therapy using mesenchymal stem cells for Huntington’s disease is showing promise in studies. These stem cells can be isolated from several easily accessible tissues, and can migrate to brain areas of tissue damage, where they release beneficial factors of their own. They can also be easily manipulated to express other factors.

Benefits of Huntington's disease treatment

• lessen some symptoms of movement and psychiatric disorders
• help a person adapt to changes in his or her abilities
• suppress the involuntary jerking and writhing movements (chorea) 
• mood-stabilizing

Cost

The cost of the treatment for Huntington's disease depends on the type of treatment your doctor decides you need. Individuals traveling to foreign destinations such as Mexico, Latin America, and Asia may enjoy between 30% and 50% savings on costs compared to the US and Canada on the same type of procedure, which include all inclusive hospital /hotel stay, care, and medical support.

Doctors

Many facilities worldwide offer stem cell therapy, but it's important to locate accredited and experienced physicians who deal with stem cell treatments. Doctors specializing in Stem Cell Therapy and neurodegenerative disease processes should be trained, certified and accredited through country of origin or international accreditation and certification boards and should also belong to organizations or associations of their specialty.

If you want to know more about the Stem Cell Therapy for Huntington's Disease, please contact us!