Deirdre O’Dwyer’s eight-year-old son Evan suffers from a rare neurological disorder which means the left side of his brain has failed to develop properly. Evan, from the Commons Road, Cork, also developed severe epilepsy and autism as a result of the disorder. His mother took him to Germany last week to undergo stem-cell treatment at the XCell Centre in Dusseldorf.

However, the centre, which offers unlicensed treatments, has closed after being ordered to cease operating by German authorities.

“I am very frightened now,” said Mrs O’Dwyer, who felt the centre gave her son a “chance” by offering treatment he could not get elsewhere.

Read the full story at the Irish Independent.

To them, the fact that a treatment has not been thoroughly tested and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a minor detail, with hope trouncing logic in a world where mainstream medicine can sometimes neither cure nor alleviate suffering.

The result is a booming international business that is growing every year, thanks in large part to the Internet and the savvy marketers who prey on patients’ fears.

Read more at Stanford Medicine.

Langley, B.C., resident Nicole Morris gave birth to twin girls, Kaylee and Savannah, two-and-a-half years ago. Born premature, Savannah developed a brain injury from lack of oxygen that left her with cerebral palsy.

The condition can cause severe motor and mental impairment. But preliminary research out of the United States has suggested that injecting children with umbilical cord stem cells might help mitigate effects of cerebral palsy.

Now Savannah’s parents say they want to try the experimental therapy they hope will make her move normally, opting to pay thousands of dollars to receive the treatment that has yet to be proven in clinical trials.

Read more at CTV News.

However, WINK News also spoke to some of Dr. Grekos patients who credit him for saving their lives.

Read more WINK News.

The treatment’s availability is extremely limited in the U.S. because there’s little scientific proof it works.

The result can be a classic battle, not unlike that which occurred in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, between desperate patients frustrated that therapeutic progress comes too slow and a medical establishment that insists there be ample evidence a therapy is safe and effective before making it widespread.

Read more at The Houston Chronicle.

Blye, along with parents Gary and Andrea McCallum and grandparents Paul and Sheila Gift, flew from Denver to Germany Feb. 1 and were scheduled to return back to Denver Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Blye underwent a stem cell treatment Thursday, Feb. 10 in Germany to help with his cerebral palsy.

Read more at The Holyoke Enterprise.

Charlie Knuth came to Amplantz Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis during December, and began undergoing treatments to help reverse the affects of epidermolysis bullosa, which left him with open sores and bruises all over his body.

“I’m amazed, I mean every time I look at him I don’t know what to say,” says Charlie’s mom Trisha.

After the transplant, Charlie seemed to be making a speedy recovery until he managed to get a blood infection which happened as a result of his immune system being compromised by chemotherapy.

Read more at WXOW.com

The 37-year-old Melbourne mum had a stem cell transplant, which she believes has effectively cured her of multiple sclerosis.

urner, the first Victorian to have the controversial treatment in Australia, reckons it rebooted her immune system and that the crippling disease has already left her body.

More than 18,000 Australians have multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease with no cure, and Turner hoped her story would give others hope.

She said within days of her transplant at Canberra Hospital in November her pain vanished and she was able to walk long distances after two years of being wheelchair-bound.

“I just kept putting one foot in front of another,” she said. “It was a miracle, it was incredible, it was surreal.”

Read more at The Daily Telegraph.

“After the treatments, it sucks less,” said Danny Cox. “I feel better than before I went.”

His mother, Maureen McGowan, emphasized that they view improvements within the context of his overall condition, which they regard as only one step along the way to recovery.

“The treatments went very well. He actually started getting new sensations in two weeks,” she said. “Danny’s healthier, his mood is good and he’s not as fragile as he was before we left. He smiles more, eats more and has more energy. Danny has more body awareness: He knows where his body is in space, and if his leg is lifted, he knows that it is in the air. Also, he’s now using a manual wheelchair instead of a power chair.

Read more at PressDemocrat.com.

Olson, 19, who uses a wheelchair and cannot move his lower body after an accident on the football field in 2008, left for India on Jan. 13.

His mother, Medara Winter of Lake Mills, said Tuesday he is getting a couple of stem cell injections each day as well as physical therapy.

“He’s doing great,” she said.

Olson’s sister, Kessa, and his friend, Lucas Storby, went to India with him. They will stay with him until he finishes treatment in April.

“It’s kind of going to be a learning experience for all of them,” Medara Winter said.

Olson is one of eight patients being treated in a clinic operated by Dr. Geeta Shroff.

Read more at GlobeGazette.com.