STEM CELL THERAPY IN COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

Abstract

In the present systematic review, the studies that done on using stem cell in autism, brain damaged motory handicapped, stroke, traumatic brain injury and vocal fold regeneration in the last 15 years from 1-2002 until 3-2017 in Pub-med and e-medicine were collected. After exclusion of unrelated studies, the final number of studies became 6 in autism, 15 in brain damaged motory handicapped, 22 in stroke, 11 in traumatic brain injury and 7 in regeneration of vocal folds. The results of these studies were collected in tables to know if really the stem cells are effective or not in treating the communication problems. The results indicated that stem cell therapy was effective in treating many symptoms of autism as eye contact, attention, decreasing the repetitive movements and improving the communication skills. Combination between 2 types of stem cells resulted in better results than using one type. Using neurotrophic factors derived from stem cells had better results than stem cells. Among the 3 studies that measured language, one of them showed statistically significant improvement in language. This study used fetal stem cells.