#44 | Stem Cells & Autism: Hope, Science, or a Very Expensive Gamble?

Across the world, parents of autistic children are being offered something thatsounds almost miraculous. Clinics promise better speech, better eye contact,calmer behaviour, and in some cases claim to repair or reverse autism. The priceruns from £10,000 to £40,000, and often more than once.Over the last few months we've been approached by clinic after clinic wanting tocome on the show and sell it to you. We said no. Instead we went and read thestudies.This one isn't about having a go at parents. Every parent looking at this isacting out of love, and we've both been desperate enough to try anything. Butlove doesn't mean a clinic gets to make huge claims without evidence. Stem celltherapy is a legitimate area of research. It is not currently a proven treatmentfor autism, and there's a difference between something being researched andsomething being proven.We also get into the ITV whistleblower, and the GB News piece asking whether"those people" should have access to children.Timestamps00:00 Hope, science, or a very expensive gamble02:21 We are not attacking parents10:15 What autism actually is13:18 What stem cells actually are15:56 The 2017 Duke study, 25 kids and no placebo18:47 The 2020 Duke study, and what it found24:38 Claim: a 95% success rate29:08 Why you'd swear blind it worked31:45 Thomas and Lydia progressed. Neither had stem cells35:37 Claim: it repairs the autistic brain38:12 Claim: most children improve40:45 Claim: our treatment is evidence based43:02 The risks nobody puts in the brochure48:00 What that money could buy instead50:45 The influencer taking commission54:02 Have a word with yourself66:45 "Have you missed the treatment window?"72:32 Myths and facts82:55 The ITV whistleblower86:50 GB News and "those people"Latest episode in the link tree in bio.