| Abstract
Neurological disorders, such as stroke, are triggered by a loss of neurons and glial
cells. Ischemic stroke remains a substantial problem for industrialized countries.
Over the previous few decades our understanding about the pathophysiology of
stroke has enhanced, nevertheless, more awareness is required to advance the field of
stroke recovery. Existing therapies are incapable to adequately relief the disease
outcome and are not appropriate to all patients. Meanwhile, the majority of patients
continue to show neurological deficits even subsequent effective thrombolysis,
recuperative therapies are immediately required that stimulate brain remodeling and
repair once stroke damage has happened. Cell therapy is emergent as a hopeful new
modality for increasing neurological recovery in ischemic stroke. Numerous types of
stem cells from various sources have been identified and their possibility and
efficiency for the treatment of stroke have been investigated. Stem cell therapy in
patients with stroke using adult stem cells have been first practiced in clinical trials
since 15 years ago. Even though stem cells have revealed a hopeful role in ischemic
stroke in investigational studies besides early clinical pilot studies, cellular therapy in
human is still at a primary stage. In this review, we summarize the types of stem
cells, various delivery routes, and clinical application of stem cell‐based therapy for
stroke treatment. |