Published On : Wed, Oct 11th, 2017

Nagpur’s Cerebellar Ataxia patient Shubhada finds relief with NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute Stem Cell Therapy

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Dr. Nandini Gokulchandran with Nagpur cerebellar ataxia patient
Nagpur: Nagpur’s 54 year old woman recently underwent stem cell therapy at Mumbai’s NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute for a non-curable disorder called Cerebellar Ataxia. NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute located at Nerul, Navi Mumbai is a super speciality hospital that has been offering stem cell therapy treatments for incurable neurological disorders. Till date, over 5000 patients from across 50 countries have been treated at NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute for various non-curable neurological disorders like Autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, intellectual disability, spinal cord injury, etc etc.

Dr. Alok Sharma Professor & Head of Neurosurgery, LTMG Hospital & LTM Medical College, Sion Mumbai and Director NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute said “Ataxia describes a lack of muscle control during voluntary movements, such as walking or picking up objects. Damage, degeneration or loss of nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls muscle coordination (cerebellum), results in ataxia. Diseases that damage the spinal cord and peripheral nerves that connect to the cerebellum to the muscles may cause ataxia. As such causes of ataxia include head injury, trauma, stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, tumor or toxic chemicals. Ataxia can develop over time or come on suddenly. The common symptoms of ataxia include poor coordination, unsteady walk and a tendency to stumble, difficulty with fine motor tasks, such as eating, writing or buttoning a shirt, change in speech, involuntary back-and-forth eye movements (nystagmus) and difficulty swallowing.”

Dr. Nandini Gokulchandran Deputy Director & Head Medical Services, NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute said, “Currently, there is no known treatment for ataxia. As such causes of ataxia include head injury, trauma, stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, tumor or toxic chemicals. Ataxia can develop over time or come on suddenly.Adaptive devices such as canes for walking, modified utensils and external communication aids may help the affected individuals to integrate back into society.”

Dr. Nandini Gokulchandran further added“Along with other adaptive devices, effective and supervised rehabilitation such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy may also be beneficial to the affected individuals.Although these therapies help in managing the disabilities up to some extent, they are unable to work on the underlying brain damage seen in children with autism. Researchers and doctors are now looking at regenerative therapy using stem cells as potential therapy for individuals showing symptoms of cerebellar ataxia.”

Here is a case report of Shubhada Belsare 54 years female from Wardha, who is a known case of cerebellar ataxia. Everything was going well with Shubhada and her family. Suddenly in the year 2007 Shubhada started showing symptoms of imbalance and coordination issues. She was taken to a neurologist and after doing all the necessary tests and studies, the doctor diagnosed Shubhada as a case of Cerebellar Ataxia. “We were shocked to know about this and it affected us the most when we realised there is no known treatment for this condition. There is no history in the family of Ataxia. We had to be strong and so we immediately started with the treatment. Of course it took some time to gain the positivity and strength to fight with such lifestyle neurological disorder but we never gave up.” Says Belsare, Shubada’s husband. Shubhada’s condition deteriorated day by day as the disease progressed. “Leaving no stone unturned Shubhada and I started trying several treatment options like Allopathy medicines, Homeopathy medicines, Ayurvedic treatment, Yunani medicines but nothing really worked for Shubhada. Her condition continued to deteriorate. We even went to America and consulted several doctors over there but even they said that there is no treatment for cerebellar ataxia.” – says Belsare, Shubhada’s husband. It was their persistent search for a treatment or a therapy, which can improve the quality of life Shubada was living that brought them to introduce with stem cell therapy. They researched a lot over the internet about how stem cell therapy can help Shubada improve her life condition and also help in stopping the progression of the disorder.

Shubhada came to NeuroGen in August 2012 for Stem Cell Therapy. On examination there was history of loss of balance since 5 years & difficulty in climbing stairs. Presence of frequent falls while walking. She even had complains of weakness of limbs and early fatigue. She had symptoms of slurred speech. Neurologically, she was hypotonic & hyporeflexic. She had poor muscle power of all four limbs. She had slurred speech. Urinary control was affected. Presence of intention Tremor; Past pointing; functionally, she needed assistance in most All Day Living activities. She had completely lost the charm in her face and also had lost confidence in doing any activity independently.

At NeuroGen, she underwent stem cell therapy along with a customized rehabilitation program. The aim of the rehabilitation program was to improve his coordination, to increase the strength of the affected muscles without fatigue and to increase overall stamina of the patient. She was given exercises that would help her improve her balance, walking, stair climbing and her grip. These exercises carried out in a systematic pattern with sufficient rest intervals to the patient. Together, the aim of the rehabilitation program was to improve her overall quality of life.

In the condition like cerebellar ataxia, the theory says that it is a fast progressive condition and in around 7 to 10 years the patient becomes bed ridden. The fact that Shubhada’s disease deterioration has completely stopped at one point, which means the disease progression has completely stopped and even after 10 years Shubhada is not bed ridden, is not less than a miracle and the biggest achievement of Stem Cell Treatment at NeuroGen. She has become completely independent for her activities of daily living. There is improvement in balance, walking, standing and stair climbing. Her speech which had become slurred and non understandable; has now become clear. She has got her charm in the face back with so much confidence from within. Her urine control has been completely achieved and hence now she can comfortably go out of the house and travel. Her fatigue has reduced and she has gained strength. Her swallowing has improved. The PET CT Scan of the brain shows regeneration in the cerebellum. Dark circles of eyes reduced. Most importantly these improvements are sustained and maintained even today in September 2017.

Shubhada now continues to work as a housewife and is very happy to be able to take care of her home and her family nicely and with confidence. She does her physiotherapy everyday for 1 to 2 hours.
Dr Alok Sharma further said “For all those millions of patients who had told by us earlier that nothing can be done medically for your illness, we can now say to you with reasonable confidence that with the availability of stem cell therapy combined with neuro-rehabilitation, Achhe Din Aane Wale Hain!

Based out of Nerul, Navi Mumbai, NeuroGen Brain & Spine Institute, India’s first and only institute that offers not only just Stem Cell Therapy but also Rehabilitation as well. This 11-storeyed building is a super specialty hospital with more than 51 beds capacity and special neurorehabilitation therapy centre. Neurogen BSI has been set up to help patients suffering from incurable neurological disorders, get relief from their symptoms and physical disabilities by the use of stem cell therapy in a safe and effective way. NeuroGen BSI offers stem cell therapy and holistic rehabilitation for Neurological Disorders like Autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, brain stroke, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, head injury, cerebellar ataxia, dementia, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis and neuropsychiatric disorders. Till date, the organization has already successfully treated 5000 patients from over 50 countries.