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groundloop

(13,974 posts)
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 11:01 AM Friday

Autistic children injected with unapproved stem cell treatments supported by RFK Jr [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Autistic children as young as 18 months old are being injected with human stem cells derived from umbilical cords in unapproved, unproven and potentially harmful “treatments” that scientists warn are proliferating across the US under the active encouragement of the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Clinics in Florida, Texas and other states are selling what they bill as “regenerative medicine” to families with autistic children who have intensive care needs. Parents who have taken their children through the process talked to the Guardian about their hopes and fears for a therapy that appears to be gaining ground in the US.

The procedure, which can involve the child being sedated with ketamine before receiving intravenous doses of millions of stem cells, costs up to $20,000 each treatment. Families are often advised to return for regular top-ups.

Profoundly stressed parents are being wooed to the clinics with promises that a high-dose infusion of umbilical cord stem cells can lead to dramatic improvements in their children’s ability to speak, socialise, or avoid aggressive or self-harming behaviour. Yet there is no scientific evidence that the procedure works – the most comprehensive clinical trial staged so far, a placebo experiment conducted by Duke University, found insignificant benefits for most of the 180 children tested.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/12/autism-stem-cell-infusions-rfk-jr

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WTAF!!! yellow dahlia Friday #1
The parents believe the kids belong to them Bmoboy Friday #3
Backwards thinking. Parenting is a responsibility - not ownership. yellow dahlia Friday #5
a lot of parents think their children are their property DBoon Friday #9
Sad. yellow dahlia Friday #12
No, they are desperate GenThePerservering Friday #19
Pure unadulterated expensive quackery prescribed by a witch doctor. What could go wrong? flashman13 Friday #2
So, immunizations, which have been studied exhaustively, are a problem... 3catwoman3 Friday #4
Insignificant benefits means no differences between this treatment and placebo. LisaL Friday #7
The Duke study found no benefit. yardwork Friday #17
Isn't that special. ... s/ littlemissmartypants Friday #6
I remember the horrific episode from the advised use of hyperbaric chambers for these kids hlthe2b Friday #8
Where are they obtaining... ultralite001 Friday #10
Hire a snake oil salesman and that's what you get - snake oil! JustKay Friday #11
Will this snakeoil failure create distrust for legitimate stem cell research and it's funding? QueerDuck Friday #13
I'm by no means an expert. WinstonSmith4740 Friday #14
"What I really want to know is how do you diagnose an 18 month old child as autistic?" ShazzieB Friday #21
There could be signs, even at that age. LisaL Friday #22
Thanks for the info! ShazzieB Friday #25
Same here, Shazzie! SheltieLover Friday #26
I had a severely autistic brother Skittles Friday #29
NO one... GiqueCee Friday #15
Mr. Anti-Science, RFK Jr, wanting to use science ?? Why didn't Lightening come down and burn his ass down ? dave99 Friday #16
Apparently Republicans hate autism even MORE than stem cell research now? Wow. Karasu Friday #18
Horrifying. highplainsdem Friday #20
+1 pat_k Friday #23
We're back to the pre-FDA snake oil days. SamuelAdams Friday #24
I despise that man. He must be prosecuted. Passages Friday #27
I don't even understand under what theory they think stem cells could cure autism. LisaL Friday #28
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