[Stem cells--potential therapeutic use in neurological diseases]

There is a growing interest in medical potential of stem cells which may be used someday to create new tissue. Suggested applications involve a board spectrum ranging from the replacement for cells destroyed by diseases to even organ transplants. As ethical and legal controversy makes uncertain the future of embryonic stem cells research, attention has been recently turned to adult stem cells to discover whether they also can serve to transplantation. In this article we present data indicating that adult stem cells found in areas of the body like blood, skin, lymph and nervous systems, may be more versatile than previously assumed and in certain conditions can broke tissue barriers for differentiation. Thus, in this respect they can behave like their own pluripotent ancestors, although underlying mechanisms for this phenomena are still not clear. Furthermore, the following issues are shortly discussed: What are the characteristics of the different stem cells and where they can be found. What are experimental evidences that stem cells can be used for brain repair. What are the main problems must be solved before their clinical application and the risk-benefit assessment. The possible strategies and targets for stem cell therapies of neurological diseases.