TIJUANA, MEXICO, September 29, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Spina bifida (Myelomeningocele) is a birth defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) 1500 children are born with spina bifida in the US annually. The condition gives rise to a wide range of symptoms and physical challenges such as loss of bladder or bowel control, partial or complete sensation as well as paralysis of the legs, and hydrocephalus (Fluid build-up inside the skull). There is no cure and standard medical care includes surgery, medications to help with symptoms and various forms of physiotherapy.

In 2010 Nova Cells Institute of Mexico (NCIM) began treating children with spina bifida using stem cells from disease-screened umbilical cord blood and Wharton's Jelly, and in many instances stem cells isolated from a small sample of the child's bone marrow . These stem cells are unique in that they have specific proteins injected into them in NCIM's laboratory which results in their being "primed" to become the specific bodily cell types (such as neuronal cells) that the patient being treated needs in order to improve or heal up. NCIM biochemist Abel Pena was trained in a unique method for doing this by a prominent southern California stem cell biologist in 2009-10. He then refined and improved this method to produce a greater percentage of primed stem cells than what is typically generated using established laboratory means. This has resulted in some impressive, even spectacular clinical responses in children with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and traumatic brain injury, as well as adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI), and other neurologic issues.

The response of children with spina bifida treated by NCIM to-date was genuinely impressive from the beginning but has become more so with technical advances and innovations. This is underscored by the response of four (4) year old Ryan Neighbors who was treated earlier this month (September 2013). Little Ryan went into treatment with cold, limp legs. Then, to borrow from her mother Michelle's words, "...about an hour after the treatment Ryan did something incredible - she started to move her toes and then lifted her left leg about three times!"

In the past Nova Cells has seen this sort of response in many children and adults with impeded circulation and other serious bodily impairments.

Ryan's mother Michelle penned an article on her daughter's trip to Mexico and her spectacular responses to her primed stem cell and Beacon Factor treatment at http://bit.ly/1h0SuKS (This article contains photos as well as a link to a video of Ryan moving her previously limp legs)

Nova Cell Institute doctors and researchers have observed that children who experience gains after their first treatment tend to get more should they elect to do additional ones.

Nova Cells Institute of Mexico pioneered unique primed stem cell treatments for a variety of neurologic issues including spina bifida, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. It also created a pooled donor granulocyte treatment for advanced cancer and a program for reversing blockage in major blood vessels, both of which have been highly successful.