Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects a person’s social communication and interaction and shows repetitive patterns or behavior. Moreover, autism is a subgroup of autism spectrum disorder. Above all, a recent study related to autism reports that globally around 61.8 million people are affected with autism.
Patients with autism show different symptoms and characteristics. In addition, their conditions and needs differ from one another. So for this reason, a tailored and customized treatment strategy is required, and one treatment strategy cannot be applied to every patient. Therefore, a personalized approach is needed to understand and treat autism.
In the fast-paced world of neurodevelopment disorders, personalized treatment strategies are considered a top option. This blog aims to provide a deeper understanding of current scientific interest in personalized treatment strategies, regenerative medicine, and promising areas in regenerative medicine.
Current scientific interest in personalized treatment strategies:
All patients suffering from autism have unique characteristics and are different from one another. As a result, a more customized approach is needed to diagnose and treat the condition.
The Special Issue includes 21 research articles. The articles findings suggest that
- Different phenotypes of ASD
- Evidence of possible promising therapies
- Prenatal factors influencing ASD
- Alternative approach to recognize social signals to diagnose ASD
How will personalized treatment be helpful in regenerative medicine?
The concept of personalized regenerative therapy for autism is implemented by customizing stem cell therapy to fit the patient’s condition, biology, and genetic makeup. Firstly, the benefit of personalized treatment is that stem cell therapy can attack certain pathways or regions associated with the disorder that are specific to the patient. Additionally, they personalize or tailor stem cells to regenerate the damaged tissue and perform certain functions. For example, in autism, they modulate stem cells to reduce neuroinflammation and to repair the neural pathways. The plus point of personalized regenerative medicine is that it reduces the risk of immune rejection.
Advantages:
- We can achieve great results by customizing treatment plans based on the patient’s condition.
- A personalized treatment approach ensures that the side effects are minimal.
- In order to fulfil the needs of the patient, we can customize the therapy.
Autism treatments:
It is important to note that autism has no cure. The therapies that we can employ to manage the symptoms are behavioral, social, educational, occupational therapy, cognitive therapy, and pharmacological therapy.
- Behavioral therapy: ABA (applied behavioral analysis) to promote good behavior.
- Social development therapy: includes speech and language therapy to improve social skills.
- Pharmacological therapy: medications to manage anxiety, stress, or insomnia.
- Cognitive therapy: to improve cognition.
Apart from the above therapies, regenerative stem cell therapy is proving to be beneficial in the treatment of autism.
Current advances in personalized rehabilitation approaches for Autism:
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technology aims to communicate the required message more efficiently by supporting regular speech. Thus, AAC devices improve interaction and incorporate by two main actions – prediction and voice recognition.
For predictive action, a set of programmed algorithms suggests words or phrases after identifying the objective of the input, for instance. This technique is helpful in patients struggling with typing or selecting symbols. On the other hand in order to ease out the vocal action, instructions and commands are given verbally.
Such technological interactions ensure that children facing difficulties in social interaction and communication convey their thoughts and needs easily.
The use of NAO robots in the treatment of ASD has gained wide popularity as it helps children overcome social and emotional difficulties. Basically, the NAO robot provides positive assessment and guides children in coping the social and emotional difficulties. Moreover, it teaches them how to maintain eye contact, understand other people’s emotions, and communicate effectively.
How can these technologies be associated with regenerative medicine?
The technology not only provides benefits but also give useful data about the behavioral patterns of the patient and development progress. As these programs are specific to each patient, the data that generates is also specific to the patient. The advantage is that the inputs obtained from the AI technologies help tailor the treatment strategy. Based on the feedback, it is possible to alter the regenerative medicine and intervene the treatment. The technologies can also increase the efficiency of regenerative medicine in autism by offering individualized therapies.
Current advances in Applications:
The apps that possess unique elements to focus on the children’s needs and suit their learning style are Social Mind Autism and ABA Genie.
The main concept behind Social Mind Autism is that the app provides game-like concepts to improve social skills through scenario-based exercises which make learning easy. On a similar note, ABA Genie incorporates evidence-based techniques to compare the children’s learning development progress over time. Thus, tracking learning development also helps in adjusting the treatment approach.
SocialEyes is a tool especially in the form of fun videos and games to educate and teach children about non-verbal communication and social signals.
The benefit of incorporation of AI:
Besides aiding in the improvement and development of social skills and training, AI also provides information and inputs on the child’s activities. It provides inputs like behavior patterns of the child, learning abilities, and development process. Generally, such input can help in personalizing and adjusting the treatment regimen and also record the progress of the child over time, for instance. Hence, all of these benefit both the parents and the caregiver and ensure that the child’s needs are met.
Wearable technologies:
Wearable technologies incorporate various tools with the aim of monitoring and managing autism. However, on the basis of function, the wearables for ASD categorizes into 3 types. They are:
- Executive function domain: the wearables falling under this category help in understanding the cognitive function of ASD patients. Example: X-trodes are an adhesive skin patch to monitor heart and brain activity. Other examples are InteraXon, Emotiv, and NeuroSky.
- Psychomotor domain: the devices help in tracking the psychomotor actions through sensors fitted. Additionally, other examples are Ultraleap, eSUN 3D, Hexoskin, and Elitac Wearables. Example: Orpyx, a device to track the temperature, step count, and plantar pressure.
- Behavioral/Emotional/Sensory Domain: for a better understanding of the needs of the ASD patient, these devices are fitted with sensors to record the physiological and behavioral data. Example: Medtronic, soluble capsule used in hospital settings for small bowel examination. Soterix Medical, Touchpoint, and Feelmore are the other examples.
Virtual Reality (VR) for social skill development:
In the real world, virtual reality (VR) technology shows a lot of potential in meeting the demands of autism patients. Patients with autism have poor social interaction skills. So, they employ virtual reality to enhance social skills and train the patients to embrace social skills in real-life situations.
VRESS (VR Enhancement of Social Skills)
VRESS is VR training software that incorporates social situations to give ASD patients a virtual depiction and explanation of the activities to anticipate and get them ready according to the situation and also to identify the root cause of the matter.
A recent study in ASD adults that intends to assess the use of the software, user experience, and acceptability of immersive VR social skills training software (VRESS) reports that
- There is high acceptability among patients.
- Social situations and executive functions showed similar correlations.
- The extent of functionality and utility of the VR system was predicted by memory and planning capacity.
- The performance of ASD patients best defines the usability, acceptability, and functionality level of VR.
A study reports that people who receive VR-incorporated social skills training have the ability to determine social signals better when compared to those who received traditional or alternative treatment.
Personalized approach in regenerative medicine like stem cells with exosomes:
Regenerative medicine:
Regenerative medicine is a field of medicine with a goal to restore or repair damaged or defective cells or tissue. More importantly, the main target of regenerative medicine is to treat diseases using stem cells.
Exosomes are nanoparticles that a cell releases and form a part of extracellular vesicles. Moreover, the size of exosomes is about 30 to 150nm. Generally, these sac-like structures have a crucial function in cellular interactions by containing an active mix of molecules such as:
- Growth factors
- Proteins
- Lipids
- MicroRNAs
Hence, these molecules enhance cellular activities such as tissue reconstruction, immune system response regulation, and restoration, by transmitting them to other cells.
Autism Patient Success Stories
Stem cell-based therapy is a personalized treatment regimen that targets the specific areas or pathways involved in the disorder. The most important therapeutic or novel targets for treatment are neuroinflammation and oxidative stress.
Stem cell-based exosomes release anti-inflammatory molecules that are important in reducing neuroinflammation. Through these anti-inflammatory molecules, it alters the immune system response.
Promising research areas in personalized regenerative medicine:
Stem cell therapy and genetic research are promising research areas in personalized regenerative medicine. In recent years, stem cell therapy has been at the forefront in the field of personalized regenerative medicine. Thus, the numerous promising research areas are:
- Stem cells have widely been implicated in bone marrow transplantation. Therefore, it is expected that in coming years, the safety and efficacy of bone marrow transplants will increase as the research advances.
- For patients suffering from heart failure, researchers grow cardiac tissue for the treatment. Hence, many national institutes and centers are anticipating a groundbreaking impact it might have in the field of cardiology and are making investments.
- In order to treat various organ dysfunctions or abnormalities, stem cell-based therapies are widely used and someday could replace organ transplantation techniques. Therefore, this area promises to be great going forward.
Stem cell therapy plays an important role in in personalized medicine approach. Above all, stem cell therapy is considered safe, ethical, and efficient compared to other treatment options. Additionally, it also shows other benefits like minimal infections, reduced chances of rejection, and little impact on the immune system. Moreover, the procedure of stem cell therapy is more easily accessible and painless. Furthermore, with the advancing technology, stem cell therapy forms a crucial component of personalized stem cell treatment.
Conclusion:
Stem cell therapy plays an important role in individualizing and personalizing treatment regimens. Because of stem cell therapy, there has been a paradigm shift from a traditional treatment regimen to a personalized treatment regimen. Additionally, it offers bright hope in the field of regenerative medicine.
In the coming future with continued funding and research, personalized medicine in the field of regenerative medicine will benefit everyone because of the specific advantages and benefits stem cell therapy provides.
FAQ’S
What is regenerative medicine?
Regenerative medicine is a field of medicine that repairs and restore the damaged cells and tissues.
What are the current advances for the personalized treatment for autism?
Augmentive and alternative communication (AAC) technology aims to communicate the required message more efficiently by supporting the regular speech. AAC devices are meant for improving interaction and incorporates two main actions – prediction and voice recognition.
How does virtual reality help in social development skill?
Virtual reality trains the patient in embracing social skills in real-life scenarios. It helps the patient in developing and understanding social signals.
Recent Comments