Research progress in stem cell transplantation for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that targets motor neurons without efficient treatment. Stem cell receives the enormous attention because it from specific tissues can differentiate into motor neuron. Stem cells from specific tissues could be used for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, such as embryonic stem cells, neural stem cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. The mechanism of stem-cell therapy includes cell-replacement, delivery neurotrophic factors and immunomodulation. Animal researches and some clinical trails have confirmed that stem cells have great potential to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Till now, people are still unknown some aspects of stem cells, and many problems still need to be resolved.