Stem cell therapy for ischemic stroke

Yuan Zhi-jun; Li Xiao-gang

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2095-4344.2013.45.020

Abstract：BACKGROUND:Stem cells are a kind of cells characterized as species diversity, self-replication and renewal ability, multiple differentiation potential and high proliferation potential. Then, the stem celltreatment for ischemic brain injury would be of great benefit. Stem celltherapy provides a new way for the treatment of ischemic stroke, but the mechanism is stil unclear. OBJECTIVE:To describe the types of stem cells and review the mechanism underlying stem celltreatment for ischemic stroke. METHODS:The first author retrieved PubMed database, Chinese Journal Ful-text Database for articles related to stem cellclassification and effectiveness, safety and mechanism of stem celltherapy for ischemic stroke published from January 1992 to September 2012. The key words were“stem cells, brain ischemic stroke, transplantation, treatment”in English and Chinese, respectively. A total of 168 literatures were retrieved, and 61 articles met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Stem celltherapy for ischemic stroke has shown a promising prospect though it is staged in the period of animal models. Stem celltransplantation for promoting functional recovery in the treatment of stroke has been completed in the clinical phase I or phase II trials. Stem celltransplantation for ischemic stroke appears to have no adverse reactions and to promote functional recovery. Main difficulties in stem celltransplantation for treatment of ischemic stroke include sources of stem cells, transplantation approach, stem cellsurvival in the host body, stem cellintegration with the host brain, therapeutic effectiveness and security. Based on the acquired results from the mechanism research and clinical trials, how to safely and quickly apply the stem celltherapy from the experiments to the clinic stil needs to work.