First stem cell brain surgery

As Aaditya watches a cartoon show on television, his right hand wavering to caress soft toys (SpongeBob SquarePants and Noddy) tucked next to him in bed, the boy has no clue that researchers and doctors across the world are watching his recovery with bated breath.

That's because this frail boy, who is set to turn eight next month, is the first ever to receive a stem cell transplant for a rare and destructive illness - called Childhood Alzheimer's (medical term: Niemann-Pick Type C or NPC), which causes neurological degeneration and seizures - for which there is no conventional treatment. Stem cells are cells that can, when provided the right stimulus, change themselves into specialised cells and, thus, develop into and replace malfunctioning or damaged body organs.

The operation was carried out at the BGS Global Hospital, Bangalore, on December 18 by Dr N.K. Venkataramana, Vice Chairman & Chief Neurosurgeon of the hospital.

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