As we have been discussing, biomarkers are important to help us understand and treat Autism. Cell-El Ltd is dedicated to finding the biomarkers that we need with greater precision and accuracy. Well ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, families affected by ASD have known the pain of economic and social isolation, and now face even greater challenges. Despite the ongoing challenge of COVID-19, Cell-El Ltd remains single-minded in our efforts and focused on advancing our research.
We are initiating a new blog to share more with you about what we are all about and where we see things heading. We also really want to hear from you about your greatest challenges and concerns relating to ASD testing and therapies.
In some ways, we are just beginning to understand the underlying biology of ASD. At the same time we are living in exciting times, with increasing promise for ASD therapies including among them, Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) Therapy, Microbiota Transplant Therapy or MTT also known as FMT (Fecal Microbiota Transplantation), Medical Cannabis and others.
While medical centers around the world explore a range of treatments for individuals with ASD, our focus is to first understand exactly what is biologically dysfunctional prior to treatment, to confirm what they actually treated, and what has changed.
Moreover, there is currently no reliable laboratory test to confirm the diagnosis. When an individual is diagnosed with ASD, the diagnosis is made primarily on the basis of behavioral symptoms alone – literally checking boxes of stereotypical ASD behaviors – a time consuming and expensive process, little changed over the last 40 years.
Here at Cell-El Ltd we are focused on developing critical diagnostic tools – based on key markers in blood, stool and urine unique to ASD and providing a precise, scientific basis for ASD diagnosis. We trust that this will reduce the delay and uncertainty associated with diagnosis of ASD, and can possibly serve as a basis for validating and/or developing effective medical treatments.
Cell-El Ltd is also interested in better ways to validate ASD treatments, i.e., to test a child both prior to a specific treatment as well as post-treatment to better understand both the condition and the effects of the treatment on a biomedical level.
We trust that this understanding may enable doctors both to diagnose Autism at an earlier age and intervene at the core level of the condition in a much more effective way.
Please join us in making a difference in the lives of children with ASD and their families! We are recruiting both participants who are typically developing as well as those dIagnosed with ASD. We are also looking for parents to help spread the word to others and thus enable this important tool to be integrated into Autism treatment as quickly as possible. And we want to hear from you about your concerns and challenges relating to ASD testing and related therapies. To contact us and learn more – please click here.