Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Methodol. Jun 20, 2025; 15(2): 100074
Published online Jun 20, 2025. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v15.i2.100074
Evaluating Wharton’s jelly-derived stem cell therapy in autism: Insights from a case study
Muzamil Akhtar, Abdulqadir J Nashwan
Muzamil Akhtar, College of Medicine, Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala 52250, Punjab, Pakistan
Abdulqadir J Nashwan, Department of Nursing and Midwifery Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
Author contributions: Akhtar M and Nashwan AJ contributed to writing the draft and critically reviewing the literature.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Abdulqadir J Nashwan, MSc, PhD, Research Scientist, Department of Nursing and Midwifery Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, Rayyan Road, Doha 3050, Qatar. anashwan@hamad.qa
Received: August 6, 2024
Revised: September 26, 2024
Accepted: September 30, 2024
Published online: June 20, 2025
Processing time: 112 Days and 23.7 Hours
Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder affecting over 2% of the global population, marked by social communication deficits and repetitive behaviors. Kabatas et al explored the efficacy and safety of Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cell (WJ-MSC) therapy in a 4-year-old child with ASD. Using the childhood autism rating scale and Denver II developmental screening test, significant improvements were seen after six WJ-MSC sessions, with no adverse events over 2 years. Despite promising results, the study’s single-case design limits generalizability. Larger, multi-center trials are needed to validate the findings and assess long-term effects of WJ-MSC therapy in ASD.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Stem cell therapy; Neuroinflammation; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Wharton jelly derived mesenchymal stem cell

Core Tip: This letter highlights the groundbreaking study by Kabatas et al, which demonstrates the efficacy and safety of Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cell (WJ-MSC) therapy in improving developmental outcomes for a child with autism spectrum disorder. Despite limitations such as the single-case design and lack of a control group, the study suggests WJ-MSC therapy as a promising treatment option, emphasizing the need for larger, controlled trials to validate these findings and develop standardized treatment protocols.