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groundloop

(14,002 posts)
Fri Jun 12, 2026, 11:01 AM Jun 12

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