Source: winnipegfreepress

Two-year-old Gavin Myshrall can't talk, walk, hold toys or eat regular food.

But help may come from halfway around the world for the child who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy shortly after birth.

Gavin's parents, Nadine Vasas and Trevor Myshrall, hope that a groundbreaking treatment using stem-cell therapy in China will help him gain enough control over his body to achieve some independence as he grows.

And they're not the only local people who are looking to China for the pricey treatment: another Winnipeg family whose child was treated there in recent months are so pleased they're thinking of returning.

Five-year-old Spencer Brasen can sometimes walk without leg braces since his treatment in December.

"There's hope," Gavin's father Trevor said on Friday from his home in Dugald.

"It's not something that's advertised in Canada yet, but it is definitely something. The evidence is there that it's working.

Source: galwaynews.ie

A Connemara family has already noticed significant improvement in their brave toddler following pioneering stem cell treatment in China a few weeks ago.

Two years old Mia Allen from Seanaféistín in Costello was born eight weeks prematurely is in University Hospital Galway with a litany of medical conditions, which included respiratory distress, acute renal failure and little brain activity.

But yesterday her mother Barbara told The Connacht Tribune that their “little angel” is already enjoying improved sight and hearing as well as stronger muscle strength.

This is after eight stem cells treatment administered intra-venously at a hospital in the Quingdao region, where she was for five and a half weeks.

Source: Yahoo News

SINGAPORE: For the first time in Singapore, stem cells from the umbilical cord have been used to treat cerebral palsy — and with positive results.

Every one in 500 babies suffers from the condition worldwide, and the breakthrough could provide hope for more parents in the region, as currently such treatments are mostly done in the US.

Two—year—old Georgia Conn is a much calmer child these days. Until recently, she suffered from frequent seizures, and cried constantly.

Georgia has cerebral palsy, an incurable condition caused by injury to her brain during birth.

On September 8, doctors infused her with her own cord blood; in the hope the stem cells would repair her damaged brain tissue.

Her parents, Michael and Louise Conn, had earlier stored Georgia’s umbilical cord cells with private blood bank, CordLife. The Australian nationals are now Singapore Residents.