Review Article
Clinical neurorestorative cell therapies: Developmental process, current state and future prospective

https://doi.org/10.26599/JNR.2020.9040009Get rights and content
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Clinical cell therapies (CTs) for neurological diseases and cellular damage have been explored for more than 2 decades. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, there are 2 types of cell categories for therapy, namely stem cell-derived CT products and mature/functionally differentiated cell-derived CT products. However, regardless of the type of CT used, the majority of reports of clinical CTs from either small sample sizes based on single-center phase 1 or 2 unblinded trials or retrospective clinical studies showed effects on neurological improvement and the ability to either partially or temporarily thwart the deteriorating cellular processes of the neurodegenerative diseases. There have been only a few prospective, multicenter, randomized, double- blind placebo-control clinical trials of CTs so far in this developing novel area that have shown negative results, and more clinical trials are needed. This will expand our knowledge in exploring the type of cells that yield promising results and restore damaged neurological structure and functions of the central nervous system based on higher level evidence-based medical data. In this review, we briefly introduce the developmental process, current state, and future prospective for clinical neurorestorative CT.

cell therapy
mature/functional cells
neurorestoration
olfactory ensheathing cells
stem cell-derived cell therapy product

Cited by (0)

Hongyun Huang, honorary director and chief expert of Institute of Neurorestoratology, The Third Medical Centre, Chinese PLA General Hospital, China; president of the Beijing Hongtianji Neuroscience Academy, China; founder of the discipline of Neurorestoratology and founding president of the International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR). He focuses on clinical functional neurorestoration for patients with central nervous diseases and damage through cell based comprehensive neurorestorative therapies; and focuses on the develop- ment of Neurorestoratology.

Lin Chen, director of the Department of Neurosurgery, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine China. He focuses on neurorestoration of spinal cord injury, stoke, facial paralysis etc. by cell therapy, neuromodulation and pharmacy; and trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm by restorative microvascular decompression surgery.

Gengsheng Mao, professor and director of Institute of Neurorestoratology, the Third Medical Centre, Chinese PLA General Hospital, China. He focuses on functional neurorestoration of stroke and Parkinson’s disease through conventional treatment and cell therapy.

Hari Shanker Sharma, director of Int. Exp. CNS Injury & Repair (IECNSIR), professor of Neurobiology (MRC); docent in Neuroanatomy (UU), Anesthesiology & Intensive Care Medicine, the Department of Surgical Sciences, University Hospital, Uppsala University, Sweden; past president of IANR. He focuses on neuroprotection and neuroregeneration in relation to the BBB in stress, trauma, and drugs of abuse in health and diseases using nanotechnology.