K. R. Kushal, a 14 yr old boy from Bengaluru, is a known case of Muscular Dystrophy. His growth was fine in his early childhood days. However, he started sensing weakness in his body at the age of 11 years. His parents realized that something was not right. Without wasting much time they immediately consulted a local doctor who diagnosed him with Muscular Dystrophy.
“Initially I started facing some lower body weakness. I found it difficult to move around and walked a few steps with some support. I was dependent for most of my activities of daily living including moving while sleeping. My condition kept on worsening. Within a year, I was completely unable to climb stairs or even stand up. I faced trouble with overhead activities like bathing myself, attending school, playing with friends, etc. I had partially become bed ridden” - said Kushal.
Understandably, it was extremely difficult for Kushal and his family to cope with this excruciating fact, but they took up the challenge and started exercising from the very beginning of the diagnosis. His parents’ encouragement helped him tremendously.
“One day, in 2017, as I was surfing the internet to research about treatment for muscular dystrophy, I happened to come across Dr. Alok Sharma’s talk on cell therapy for muscular dystrophy. They asked me to share my reports and videos for a consultation and gave me a quick feedback answering all my queries. They explained everything quite well which gave me a better idea about the treatment and a ray of hope towards improvement. We decided to go ahead with the cell therapy at NeuroGen BSI, without wasting any further time.
When Kushal was examined, his therapists found that his weakness was gradually increasing in his lower body and his fatigue was increasing. He was unable to walk, run and climb stairs without support. He also had sudden falls while walking. He was unable to even shift or get up from the bed. His mobility had reduced.
Kushal underwent Cell therapy at NeuroGen Brain and Spine Institute, along with a customized rehabilitation program in Sept 2017. He was taught exercises to improve his ankle and toe movements, to strengthen his weak muscles and improve his balance on standing. He was also taught therapies that would help increase his overall stamina and strengthen his lower and upper limbs. Together, the aim of his rehabilitation program was to improve his overall quality of life. Kushal continued the Neurorehabilitation suggested to him at home even after treatment. He was able to notice that his disease progression had not only halted but his condition began showing gradual improvements.
The improvements Kushal observed post his cell therapy at NeuroGen BSI were that he was able to stand and walk without support again. His posture had improved, fatigue had reduced, the strength in his upper limbs, trunk and neck had increased. He was now much more independent.
Kushal is a college student, and is determined to become a Software Engineer without letting Muscular Dystrophy hamper his life and dreams. “Do not lose hope, aim high and target your goals without letting any illness put you down.” says Kushal.
At the Press Conference at Bengaluru, Dr Nandini Gokulchandran explained further, “Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most severe form of muscular dystrophy. The lifespan of children with DMD is around 20-22 years. It is emotionally, physically and financially taxing for the families of these children. As there is no treatment modality to eradicate this disease as yet, the family has to see their child wither away. Therefore, we need to broaden our outlook and explore newer treatment strategies. Cell Therapy has proven that even though DMD cannot be cured as yet, at least it is able to control the progression of this disease to a large extent. Cell therapy has emerged as a treatment option in the recent years, which has shown its positive impact on the progressive nature of this disease. Stem cells are a productive and safe therapeutic tool in the management of patients with muscular dystrophy. It has shown functional as well as radiological improvements in these patients of muscular dystrophy, which enhances their quality of life.”
