Autism or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is a complex condition that includes behavioural and communication problems. Autism Spectrum disorder includes a wide variety or range of symptoms that can cause minor to major problems. Individuals with Autism have more difficulty with communication because they cannot comprehend and express the feelings of others. For autistic individuals, it is too difficult to express their emotions through body language, gestures, touch, expressions, and verbal communication. Moreover, autistic individuals can also suffer from learning and cognitive deficits.

There are two vital causing factors of Autism:

• Environmental factors: These factors may include specific viral infections, pregnancy complications, and medications that can alter the individual's condition. Air pollutants, specific colours, and smells can also trigger the autistic child to behave abnormally

• Genetic predisposition: Genetic factors also play a vital role in causing autism in generations. Several genetic mutations are the responsible factors for autism. Genes that affect the working of brain cells also determine the incidence of autism in the coming generations. 

The most common risk factors for ASD may include:

• Gender of the individual: Males (boys) are more prone to develop these disorders in comparison to females.

• Family history or genetic inheritance: As discussed earlier, families having a history of one autistic child have more chances of having more patients in the future. These children may behave differently in terms of their social interaction, communication, engagement with others, and emotional exposure.

• Preterm birth: Babies who are born before 26 weeks have more tendency to develop neurological and psychological problems. 26-weeks’ gestation birth puts a baby at higher risk of developing autism.

• Parental age: Older parents can be another significant factor for their offspring to be autistic.

You can find out the symptoms of Autism in your children even at a younger age. Some children can show their signs at 3 years of age. 

The most prevalent signs and symptoms of Autism are:

• Insufficient eye contact

• Limited activities and interests in hobbies

• A habit of repeating a specific activity multiple times at one time

• High sensitivity or irritability to the sound, sights, smells, and touches. These individuals have more than ordinary sense for such stimuli. Therefore, the therapy room of autistic children focuses on their lightning and colours to not frighten the patients.

• Lack of attention span and not giving attention to other people

• Problems with understanding body language, gestures, and verbal communications

• Difficulty with adapting a specific habit and hobby

• A robotic sense of expressions, tone, voice, and talking pattern of the patient

• Avoidance to cuddle or hug anyone due to their psychological triggers

There is no permanent treatment for Autism. However, doctors pay attention to modifiable symptoms and problems to improve the patient's quality of life—the treatment goal for autistic patients is maximizing the child’s ability to move and work in society. 

Early diagnosis and treatment of the autistic child can help in the long run compared to late treatment. 

Most of the time, the primary form of treatment of Autism is Applied Behavioral Analysis or ABA; as well as other forms of behavioral therapy, like:

• Family therapies

• Educational therapies

• Communication and behavioural therapies

• Speech and occupational therapies for learning and perception

• Medications as antipsychotic drugs control the hyperactivity of the child. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs can also help these individuals in gaining control over their irregular emotions.

Stem Cell Therapy is gaining fame by becoming an extraordinary treatment approach for autistic patients.

Stem Cell Therapy helps reverse the specific abnormalities by administering hyperbaric oxygen, multipotent cells, anti-inflammatory agents, and antibiotics. 

Autism has different categories in terms of severity. Stem Cell Therapy helps treat autistic children with mesenchymal and umbilical cord-derived tissues. The degree of autism and its severity are closely associated with the TARC (Thymus Activation-Regulated Chemokine) and MDC (Macrophage-Derived Chemokine). Intravenous administration of the MSCs derived from the umbilical cord has considerable clinical evidence for decreasing inflammation and alleviating Autistic symptoms.

Stem cells therapy helps with Autism at the neurological level by:

• Stopping the progression of the abnormalities in terms of growth and behaviour

• Promoting social interaction, interpersonal skills, and communication

• Improving the abnormal behaviours as anxiety, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), depression, solitude, and loneliness in a child

• Reducing the pro-inflammatory responses and showing tolerability to the body

According to the clinical literature, Exosomes combined with MSCs help in autoimmune diseases by regulating the inflammatory cytokines, microenvironment, and immune cells. These processes have a potent relation with both adaptive and innate immune cells. In these cells, macrophages, Treg cells, Th17, immunoregulatory miRNAs, and CD4+Th1 are the most crucial ones. 

Exosomes-combined-MSCs help in the regulation of T-Cell subsets in cases of autoimmune diseases. Moreover, the MSCs-Exosomes also aid in reducing the levels and concentration of pro-inflammatory Th17 and TH1 cytokines as IL-17AF, IL-12p70, and IL-6. However, the same MSCs-Exosomes help in increasing the concentration of anti-inflammatory Treg. 

Therefore, MSCs-Exosomes increase the concentration of Treg cells and the related products without changing the concentration index of the lymphocytes to maintain immunoregulation in the body. Similar effects of these cells are seen in the cases of RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and GVHD (graft-versus-host disease). MSCs-Exosomes help improve the GVHD by suppressing the differentiation of populations of the naïve T-cells. Macrophages constitute a crucial and major portion of the innate immunity of the human body, which can be regulated through the administration of MSCs-Exosomes. According to the different microenvironments, Mo (naïve macrophages) can be polarized into anti-inflammatory (M2) or pro-inflammatory (M1) to play different roles in different conditions. Along with the autoimmune conditions, this combination therapy can also help facilitate metabolic hemostasis to attenuate obesity and adipose inflammation. Moreover, MSCs-Exosomes can also promote the M1-M2 macrophage conversion to reduce the pro-inflammatory factors or effects of the macrophage M1.

The Stem Cell Therapy risks are low and infrequent because of the therapy’s high safety domain.

The most expected or common risk factors of SCT can be:

• Fever

• Pain in throat and mouth

• Graft-versus-host disease (in rare cases)

• Painful injection area /site

• Lethargy and fatigue

• Allergic reactions

Allergic reactions are preventable through pre-injection history and care. Fatigue, fever, and pain are managed through the appropriate drugs along with the treatment. Graft-versus-host disease is preventable via careful administration and a high-quality treatment regimen.

Autism is a complex disorder with a combination of different symptoms making the patient vulnerable to different problems. With the invention of Stem Cell Replacement Therapy, parents have been more confident and hopeful for the good prognosis of their children. Stem Cell Therapy has the potential to be more effective than previous methods and also carries less risk. At present, stem cell technology is still in the developmental stage, but rapid developments and advances indicate its potential uses for the treatment of autism.