Title: The Therapeutic Potential of Stem Cells in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
VOLUME: 6 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Dinko Mitrecic, Charles Nicaise, Srecko Gajovic and Roland Pochet
Affiliation:Laboratory for Neurogenetics and Developmental Genetics, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 12, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Keywords:cell transplantation, administration route, regenerative medicine, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stem cells, therapy, neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, growth factors, rats, mice, clinical trial, delivery, dose, iPS, cell replacement
Abstract: Stem cells – based therapy is one of the most promising therapeutic approaches for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is a fatal neurodegenerative disease without cure. This paper reviews the most intriguing pre-clinical and clinical studies and reports the current status of knowledge regarding ALS pathogenesis, confronting it with stem cell applications and their effects. Here we summarize various therapeutic approaches with respect to different sources of stem cells and diverse administration routes. Observed slow down of the disease progression and acceptable side effects emerge as the solid basis for optimism regarding the potential of the stem cell therapy for ALS.
