Cord Blood Stem Cells Help Young Boy with Tetra Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Tomas’s mom developed pre-eclampsia, a hypertension disorder sometimes developed during pregnancy which can cause serious health risks for both mom and baby, during her fifth month of pregnancy. This high blood pressure pregnancy complication affects kidney and liver function and when left untreated, can lead to blood clotting failure, fluid buildup in the lungs, seizures and in severe cases, death. With this diagnosis, Tomas’s mom was put on immediate bed rest to try and relieve her pre-eclampsia symptoms. Just when she was feeling some relief, Tomas’s mom received the unfortunate news that her baby’s heartrate had slowed down due to two knots in the umbilical cord. Doctors grew concerned for Tomas’s survival and decided then that they needed to deliver him via C-section to avoid any further complications, despite his mother being only 31 weeks pregnant. Born with his lungs slightly undeveloped, Tomas had to be put in a NICU incubator to receive breathing assistance. If these complications weren’t enough, the NICU incubator Tomas was in malfunctioned, ceasing the production of oxygen he needed to survive. Without enough oxygen to support his brain and body, Tomas developed tetra spastic cerebral palsy in both legs and arms. Tetra spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type of cerebral palsy. Since it affects the part of the brain responsible for motor function, people with this condition have stiff and jerky movements as the hypertonia or increased muscle tone...
Source: Cord Blood News - Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Tags: babies Cord Blood medical research pregnancy stem cells Source Type: blogs