Consuelo Mancias Guerra, MD
The discovery of stem cells has led to an ongoing revolution of medicine. Cell therapy protocols for autism and cerebral palsy are an example of a new approach to a condition that is difficult to treat. Consuelo Mancias Guerra, MD is a pioneer in the field and her work at the University Hospital of the state of Nuevo Leon gives hope to families, improving the quality of life of patients diagnosed with these conditions.
Aiming to improve the connection of neurons
Consuelo Mancías Guerra, coordinator of the “Banco de Cordon Umbilical”, and her work team, began this project after having been approved by the Ethics Committee of the University Hospital, in the second half of 2012.
She explained that the treatment involves applying cells from the bone marrow directly to the brain through the spinal cord to help make a better connection between neurons. These cells help to press the functional neurons of autistic and cerebral palsy patients. E.g., if you are working with 10 neurons instead of 30, the stem cells drive those 10 so they can perform functions like those of the other 20.
Professional Profile
Dra. Maria del Consuelo Mancias-Guerra attended medical school in “Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon” and graduated in general practice in 1992. She was trained in Pediatrics from 1993 to 1996 and then in Clinical Hematology from 1996 to 1998 in the University Hospital “Dr. Jose E. Gonzalez” of the same University at Monterrey. She became a fellow in bone marrow transplantation and stem cells cryopreservation at the University of Texas in San Antonio from 1998 to 1999. She is board certified by Mexico’s “Consejo Mexicano de Hematologia”. Since 1999, she is head of a private blood bank at the “OCA Hospital” in Monterrey, and since 2001, became part of the Hematology Service of the University Hospital in Monterrey. There she started the cryopreservation laboratory and the first public cord blood bank in Mexico. Dr. Mancias-Guerra participates actively in training medical residents and Ph.D. students have written more than 20 publications in medical journals, and 8 chapters in books about pediatrics and hematology. She has won several national awards of medicine. Her main area of research interest is cellular therapy, in which she has clinical trials running and listed in ClinicalTrials.gov.
