What stem cells treat: real data from Han's United clinical practice

What “works” means in cell therapy

Before looking at specific indications, it is important to agree on terminology. In regenerative medicine, “works” does not mean “cures”. It means “gives measurable improvement on objective scales in a significant proportion of patients”. These proportions differ between diagnoses and stages, and individual variation is very high.

Levels of evidence that clinical practice relies on:

RCTs (randomised controlled trials) are the gold standard. For MSC therapy, most RCTs are Phase I/II, aimed at testing safety and preliminary efficacy.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are a synthesis of several RCTs. They have appeared for several indications (osteoarthritis, stroke) and often show an effect at medium and long follow-up.

Published clinical cases (case reports) in peer-reviewed journals: specific patients, checked by the journals' editors.

A clinic's clinical case series: internal practice data. A useful signal, but not the level of RCT evidence.

Below, for each of the five areas: what exists at the level of peer-reviewed literature and how Han's United applies it in clinical practice.

1. Cerebral palsy (CP)

What happens in CP. A group of motor disorders caused by damage to the developing brain in the pre-, peri- or postnatal period. The standard for assessing severity is the GMFCS scale (levels I-V). In addition to motor disorders, some patients have cognitive and behavioural differences.

The biological logic of MSC therapy. MSCs are aimed at reducing neuroinflammation, providing paracrine support for neuron survival and stimulating angiogenesis in areas of chronic hypoperfusion. Direct regeneration of dead neurons is not expected: the aim is to support the function of the preserved neural tissue.

What is seen in practice. In clinical series of MSC therapy in children with CP, some patients show improvements in gross motor function (especially at GMFCS levels II-IV), and some also show improvements in speech and cognitive function. The effect is more often cumulative and appears at 6-24 months. In patients with a severe form (GMFCS V) expectations are lower, but even there improvements in basic functions are described (muscle tone, breathing, reactions to the environment).

More in the article “Stem cells for cerebral palsy”.

2. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

What happens in ASD. A heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders. A significant proportion of patients show signs of neuroinflammation, immune dysregulation, cerebral hypoperfusion and dysfunction of the gut-brain axis. These processes are potential targets for the immunomodulatory action of MSCs.

Peer-reviewed evidence. A clinical case published in Cureus in 2025 (Gesundheit B, Hochbaum L, Fetyukhina A, Vorobyev V, Vorobyev N; DOI: 10.7759/cureus.83440) describes a boy aged 5-9 with a severe form of ASD and treatment-resistant epilepsy who received 5 courses of MSC therapy. Outcome: resolution of epileptic seizures and significant improvements in social functioning during the observation period. This is not an RCT, but a peer-reviewed case report is a serious level of evidence for an individual case.

Han's United practice. In the clinic's clinical practice, umbilical cord MSCs (UC-MSC) are used in ASD with a focus on immunomodulation. Courses are built individually; results range from significant improvements to moderate ones.

An important safety signal. The scientific literature describes a tragic case in which a child with ataxia-telangiectasia was given fetal neural stem cells (NSCs) at a non-specialised clinic, and serious complications developed 4 years later. This case illustrates why the use of NSCs in ASD remains predominantly preclinical, and why Han's United works only with umbilical cord MSCs and not with neural cells.

More in the article “Stem cells for autism”.

3. After-effects of stroke

What happens after a stroke. An acute disturbance of cerebral circulation, either ischaemic (atherothrombotic, cardioembolic and others) or haemorrhagic (intracranial haemorrhage). After the acute period, an ischaemic penumbra zone, neuroinflammation and chronic dysfunction develop around the core of the lesion. Rehabilitation potential depends on the size and location of the lesion, age and the time since the stroke.

The biological logic of MSC therapy. Reduction of neuroinflammation in the penumbra zone, paracrine support of neurons, stimulation of angiogenesis and endogenous regenerative processes. Possibly, support of neuroplasticity during the rehabilitation stage.

Peer-reviewed evidence. Han's United has a series of publications on the use of umbilical cord MSCs in stroke (2019, 2023, 2025). Meta-analyses on ischaemic stroke from 2024-2025 show a safe profile for MSC therapy and moderate improvement in functional recovery compared with placebo when added to standard rehabilitation. This means that MSCs do not replace rehabilitation, but may improve its result in some patients.

More in the article “Stem cells after stroke”.

4. Spinal cord injuries

What happens in spinal cord injury. Traumatic damage to the spinal cord. By level: cervical (C1-C8) / thoracic (Th1-Th12) / lumbar. By type: complete or incomplete (ASIA A-E classification). The prognosis for functional recovery depends substantially on the level, the completeness of the injury and the time since the injury.

The biological logic of MSC therapy. Reduction of secondary damage (inflammation, ischaemia) in the acute and subacute phases, support for the survival of preserved nerve fibres, stimulation of remyelination. In the chronic period, a potential reduction in spasticity and neuropathic pain.

What the literature describes. Published clinical observations, including from hospital series of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA 251st Hospital), show moderate improvement in motor function in some patients with incomplete injuries. Meta-analyses of spinal MSC therapy indicate that the effect is higher in subacute and incomplete injuries and lower in chronic complete ones. A “cure” should not be expected with a complete transection of the spinal cord.

5. Type 2 diabetes

What happens in T2D. A chronic metabolic disease: resistance of peripheral tissues to insulin + a relative deficit of insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells. It is accompanied by chronic low-grade systemic inflammation and dysfunction of the gut microbiota.

The biological logic of MSC therapy. Immunomodulation of systemic inflammation, potential support of β-cells through paracrine factors, influence on metabolism through the microbiota-immunity-metabolism axis.

Peer-reviewed evidence. A study of MSCs + microbiota in T2D published in 2016 showed improvement in glycaemic measures and insulin resistance in some patients. The effect is not a cure: patients continue standard therapy, and MSCs serve as an additional tool when basic treatment is not effective enough.

Honest limitations

A few important caveats that are honestly worth keeping in mind when discussing cell therapy:

Most clinical data are at the Phase I/II level. There are substantially fewer RCT data than for conventional drug therapies.

High individual variation. Some patients improve significantly, others moderately, some minimally. It is impossible to predict in advance which group a particular patient will fall into.

Not a cure, but supportive therapy. MSC therapy does not replace standard treatment and rehabilitation. It is used in addition to them.

The point of greatest effect is 6-24 months after the procedure, not the first weeks.

Follow-up examinations are mandatory: individual progress is tracked, and the decision on repeat courses is based on these data.

When MSC therapy may help and when it will not

The Han's United clinical team recommends discussing therapy in the following cases:

The patient has one of the indicated diagnoses in a stable condition (without acute exacerbations).

Standard therapy has exhausted its options or has had an insufficient effect.

There are no contraindications (see the article on safety and contraindications).

The family has a realistic understanding of expectations: supportive therapy, not a cure.

The clinic does not recommend MSC therapy in cases of:

An active oncological process (even a past history requires individual assessment).

Severe multiple organ failure.

Acute infectious processes.

Unrealistic expectations (“so that it cures completely”).

If your loved one has one of the listed diagnoses and you are considering cell therapy, the most useful thing to do at this stage is to get an honest clinical assessment for the specific case. There is no need to decide now. Tell our medical coordinator about the patient: what diagnosis, what stage, what current therapy, what tests have been done. Based on this, the academic board will give a realistic assessment of whether benefit can be expected and what kind.

References

1. Gesundheit B., Hochbaum L., Fetyukhina A., Vorobyev V., Vorobyev N. Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Treatment Alleviates Autism Spectrum Disorder Symptoms: A Case Report. Cureus. 2025; 17(5): e83440. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.83440.

2. Cao M. et al. Efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stem cells in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Stem Cell Research & Therapy 2025; 16: 122.

3. Lin J. et al. Mesenchymal stem cells for osteoarthritis: Recent advances in related cell therapy. Bioengineering & Translational Medicine 2025. DOI: 10.1002/btm2.10701.

4. Shan Y. et al. Pharmacokinetic characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells in translational challenges. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41392-024-01936-8.

5. Han's United (汉氏联合) clinical practice 2007-2025: internal clinic data.