Cell and cell-derived products
Cell therapies
Whole cells, or the material cells release, given in the hope of repairing or protecting a developing brain. This is the most heavily marketed group of treatments in paediatric neurology, and the one where the gap between what is promised and what has been shown is widest.
These are generally considered for a child who has not responded adequately to conventional care, or whose progress has plateaued. Where conventional treatment is not yet fully in place, establishing it first will usually achieve more.
Stem cell therapy
Several different products share this name. Some are licensed medicines for blood disorders; none is a licensed treatment for cerebral palsy or autism anywhere in the world.
Umbilical cord blood, cord tissue MSCs, bone marrow mononuclear cells
Early research onlyExosomes
The cell-free next step after stem cells, with genuinely interesting laboratory science — and, in children, almost no controlled clinical evidence at all.
Extracellular vesicles, MSC-derived EVs
Early research onlyMuse cells
A distinct, well-characterised cell type with an unusual biology — it appears to find damaged tissue on its own — supported by a substantial laboratory literature and an early but real clinical programme. Controlled paediatric efficacy data are not yet available.
Dezawa MuseCells, Multilineage-differentiating Stress Enduring cells, SSEA-3 positive cells, CL2020