ROME (AP) — An Italian judge has ruled that a two-year-old girl can keep on receiving stem cells, revoking an order blocking the treatment for a severe muscular disease.
Citing "compassionate" circumstances, Venice Judge Margherita Bortolaso ruled Friday that because no alternative treatments exist, using stem cells was the "the only possible means to slow down" spinal muscular atrophy. Italy's drug agency had shut down the lab treating the child in May on grounds it was not hygienic.
The judge, however, ruled otherwise.
Celeste Carrer's parents had reported marked improvement after she began stem cell treatment last winter. Last week, the child received one treatment after a court granted temporary permission pending Friday's decision.
Stem cell treatment in other facilities was not affected by this case, which tugged at the nation's heartstrings.
