Mesenchymal stem cells for ischemic stroke: progresses and possibilities.

Mesenchymal stem cells for ischemic stroke: progresses and possibilities. Curr Med Chem. 2016 Feb 21; Authors: Ferri AL, Bersano A, Lisini D, Boncoraglio G, Frigerio S, Parati E Abstract Stroke is the most common reason of death and quality of life impairments due to neurological deficits in industrialized countries, currently afflicting 15 million people every year, and the numbers are expected to increase, mostly due to population aging. Although some acute phase therapies such as intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) and more recently endovascular treatment have been identified to improve stroke outcome, these therapies are available only for a small proportion of patients. The social and economic impact of stroke is immense because one of five stroke patient's dies and one of three are left with disabilities that limit their self-sufficient. The use of stem cells to replace brain cells lost during stroke is a very long-term goal and not easy to achieve given the fact that most types of brain cells are destroyed, and the transplanted cells must integrate and restore neural pathways to restore the function of damaged parts of the brain. Over the past decade the use of mesenchymal stromal cells in cell therapy (MSCs) has emerged as a particular attractive option MSCs are a class of multipotent, self-renewing cells that give rise to differentiated progeny when implanted into appropriate tissues. Herein, we pres...
Source: Current Medicinal Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Curr Med Chem Source Type: research