Clinical Trials of Adult Stem Cell Therapy in Patients with Ischemic Stroke

Stem cell therapy is considered a potential regenerative strategy for patients with neurologic deficits. Studies involving animal models of ischemic stroke have shown that stem cells transplanted into the brain can lead to functional improvement. With current advances in the understanding regarding the effects of introducing stem cells and their mechanisms of action, several clinical trials of stem cell therapy have been conducted in patients with stroke since 2005, including studies using mesenchymal stem cells, bone marrow mononuclear cells, and neural stem/progenitor cells. In addition, several clinical trials of the use of adult stem cells to treat ischemic stroke are ongoing. This review presents the status of our understanding of adult stem cells and results from clinical trials, and introduces ongoing clinical studies of adult stem cell therapy in the field of stroke.