Cell therapy for neurological disorders: The elusive goal

The positive outcomes of the transplantation of fetal neural tissue in adult rat models of a variety of neurological disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease, in the 1970s, and its translation to humans in the 1980s, raised great hopes for patients suffering from these incurable disorders. This resulted in a frantic research globally to find more suitable, reliable, and ethically acceptable alternatives. The discovery of adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and more recently, the induced pluripotent cells further raised our expectations. The useful functional recovery in animal models using these cell transplantation techniques coupled with the desperate needs of such patients prompted many surgeons to "jump from the rat-to-man" without scientifically establishing a proof of their utility. Each new development claimed to overcome the limitations, shortcomings, safety, and other technical problems associated with the earlier technique, yet newer difficulties prevented evidence-based acceptance of their clinical use. However, thousands of patients across the globe have received these therapies without a scientifically acceptable proof of their reliability. The present review is an attempt to summarize the current status of cell therapy for neurological disorders.