We know why ships register in Panama... but autism treatment?
19/09/11 18:40
Don’t pack your bags just yet.
The desperate lengths to which parents of children with autism go continues to amaze me. Unfortunately, sometimes the experimentation is dangerous. What makes things worse is that the media fuels this kind of experimentation rather than using a filter of common sense.
In this case, a clinic in Panama injects stem cells intravenously or into the spinal fluid of children with autism. The parents go back for this treatment year after year, and as usual, the treatment is sold through testimonials. Prior to understanding autism and the brain, they are experimenting...
In contrast, responsible neuroscientists are researching autism through the use of stem cells. They are not shooting up children with stem cells; they are using stem cells to better understand the condition, and thereby, move closer to a cure. Below is Dr. Ricardo Dolmetch interviewed by Dr. Thomas Insel, of the National Institutes of Health, about his research in autism and how that will lead to biomedical treatments.
The desperate lengths to which parents of children with autism go continues to amaze me. Unfortunately, sometimes the experimentation is dangerous. What makes things worse is that the media fuels this kind of experimentation rather than using a filter of common sense.
In this case, a clinic in Panama injects stem cells intravenously or into the spinal fluid of children with autism. The parents go back for this treatment year after year, and as usual, the treatment is sold through testimonials. Prior to understanding autism and the brain, they are experimenting...
In contrast, responsible neuroscientists are researching autism through the use of stem cells. They are not shooting up children with stem cells; they are using stem cells to better understand the condition, and thereby, move closer to a cure. Below is Dr. Ricardo Dolmetch interviewed by Dr. Thomas Insel, of the National Institutes of Health, about his research in autism and how that will lead to biomedical treatments.
What’s encouraging is that Dr. Dolmetsch is a reputable neuroscientist who is also a parent of a child with autism; obviously, his motivation as a parent is great. The added bonus is that Dr. Dolmetsch actually has the skill set to potentially come up with a cure for autism using the scientific method, rather than engaging in dangerous experimentation like many others in the world. Let’s hope that this father of a child with autism continues to receive funding for the autism research he is doing, and that one day our children will benefit from his research.