Neurological disorders and the potential role for stem cells as a therapy

Abstract

Introduction Neurological disorders are routinely characterized by loss of cells in response to an injury or a progressive insult. Stem cells could therefore be useful to treat these disorders. Sources of data Pubmed searches of recent literature. Areas of agreement Stem cells exhibit proliferative capacity making them ideally suited for replacing dying cells. However, instead of cell replacement therapy stem cell transplants frequently appear to work via neurotrophic factor release, immunomodulation and upregulation of endogenous stem cells. Areas of controversy and areas timely for developing research Many questions remain with respect to the use of stem cells as a therapy, the answers to which will vary depending on the disorder to be treated and mode of action. Whereas the potential tumorigenic capability of stem cells is a concern, most studies do not support this notion. Further determination of the optimal cell type, and whether to perform allogeneic or autologous transplants warrant investigation before the full potential of stem cells can be realized. In addition, the use of stem cells to develop disease models should not be overlooked.

G-CSF as an Adjunctive Therapy with Umbilical Cord Blood Cell Transplantation for Traumatic Brain Injury

“…A major component of regenerative medicine is stem cell-based therapeutics, which have shown promising therapeutic potential for various types of neurological disorders, including TBI (e.g., 57,58,62,109,130), and have reached limited clinical trials [for review see (43)]. Translating cell therapy for treatment of brain diseases to the clinic has involved testing the safety, efficacy, and mechanisms of action of a variety of transplantable donor cells, including fetal stem cells, cancer-derived neuron-like cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and adult stem cells, such as umbilical cord blood, bone marrow stromal cells, amnion cells, among others (16,57,58,62,63,74,75,84,87,90,109,130). However, among these various types of stem cells, adult stem cells are of interest, as they circumvent ethical and moral problems and also teratogenic and oncogenic risks usually associated with transplantation of embryonal or fetal-derived stem cells (85).…”

Therapeutics with SPION-labeled stem cells for the main diseases related to brain aging: a systematic review

“…84 In this sense, accelerated brain aging by environmental components, behavioral or genetic, makes the brain structure vulnerable to two distinct disease processes, which are associated in some situations: i) oxidative stress modulating the chronic accumulation of protein clusters (a-synuclein, β amyloid, Tau, etc) or intracellular apoptotic/degenerative events by the increased immune response, and ii) the ischemic event, acute in most situations, caused by trauma or thromboembolic events. 48 AD, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and sclerosis are the most prevalent diseases related to the cerebral aging process. 54 Cell therapy is a nonpharmacological option to treat the mentioned diseases.…”

“…[44][45][46] The physiological loss of tissue homeostasis during life is typically connected to a progressive and extensive decline in the physical and cognitive performance of the whole organism, commonly referred to as aging. 47,48 In addition to loss of stem cell turnover, aging is also caused by a decrease in the overall function of differentiated cells, which occurs due to the cell number and environmental factors including DNA damage, reduction in telomere length, oxidative stress, International Journal of Nanomedicine 2014:9 submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com…”

Nörolojik Hastalıklarda Kök Hücre Nakli

“…Son yıllarda yukarıdaki hastalıklar dışında Alzheimer, çeşitli beyin tümörleri, Bazı epilepsi tipleri, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher gibi dismyelinizan hastalıklar, Friedreich ataksisi, Rett, Angelman, Prader-Willi sendromu gibi pek çok nörolojik hastalıkta da kök hücre nakli denenmektedir 2,41,42 .…”