Stem cell therapy treats man with muscle degeneration

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New Delhi: A 20-year-old man named Aditya Bhatia was suffering from Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) -- a condition which slowly weakens and degenerates all the muscles of the body leading to disability was treated using stem cell therapy.

Aditya was diagnosed with Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) in 2012. It started after he found it difficult to lift his arms over the head -- one of the main and strongest symptoms. Consultations with several doctors did not find Bhatia any solution, and his condition grew severe and started affecting other parts of the body such as face.

FSHD usually begins before age 20, with weakness and atrophy of the muscles around the eyes and mouth, shoulders, upper arms and lower legs. Later, weakness can spread to abdominal muscles and sometimes hip muscles.

Experts says that FSHD can be divided into adult-onset and infantile-onset forms.

Bhatia's parents had heard about the stem cell treatment which had proved effective in many diseases such as spinal diseases.

Accordingly, they consulted doctors on stem cell therapy and decided to give it a try.

All the procedures were followed and he was tested for hyper sensitivity reactions with stem cells, also known as Human Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy.

Doctors said that during the treatment procedure, Bhatia was injected with 0.05 ml stem cells.

(With IANS inputs)