Role of stem cell in stroke treatment: bench to bedside

Stroke is the second cause of death in the world. Although it has been well controlled in developed countries. On the other hand, stroke is still a leading cause of long-term disability and the leading preventable cause of disability, according to the American Heart Association. New era for stroke treatment are focused on treating the root cause by repairing the damaged cells and tissue through targeted replacement of neural cells. Clinical trials of stem cell therapy in patients with stroke have been conducted using adult stem cells like mesenchymal stem cells and bone marrow mononuclear cells for more than two decades. Results of randomized controlled trials showed that adult stem cell therapy was safe but its efficacy was controversial and need more studies and new stem cell therapy strategies. Our limited experience on autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells for acute stroke showed safe during one year follow up and also showed promising improvement in function. It is too soon to expect that stem cell therapy can revolutionize the stroke treatment, but it can help for decreasing disabilities

Keywords:

Stroke , Stem cell therapy , Clinical trials