Cell therapy in children with Down syndrome: a retrospective study.

Cell therapy, the administration of freeze-dried or lyophilized cells derived from fetal tissue of animals, has been suggested and accepted by some parents as a treatment for Down syndrome. Such therapy regimens have been purported to ameliorate dysmorphic features and to result in improvement in IQ, motor skills, social behavior, height, language, and memory. Interest in this therapy continues despite a lack of empirical support for its use and its illegality in the United States. In this study, 190 subjects of whom 21 had received cell therapy (from sources external to this study) were studied for 18 variables in the areas of growth, motor development, cognitive development, and adaptive/social status. Comparing the cell-treated group with a control group matched for sex, age, socioeconomic status, and cardiac history showed no statistically significant differences for any of the developmental or growth variables measured. These findings fail to support continued claims of improved functioning following cell therapy in persons with Down syndrome.