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Stem cells for ALS: An overview of possible therapeutic approaches
Author(s) -
Czarzasta Joanna,
Habich Aleksandra,
Siwek Tomasz,
Czapliński Adam,
Maksymowicz Wojciech,
Wojtkiewicz Joanna
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2017.01.003
Subject(s) - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , stem cell , neuroprotection , mesenchymal stem cell , stem cell therapy , clinical trial , neural stem cell , neuroscience , paracrine signalling , medicine , mechanism (biology) , disease , pathogenesis , neuroinflammation , bioinformatics , biology , pathology , microbiology and biotechnology , philosophy , receptor , epistemology
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an unusual, fatal, neurodegenerative disorder leading to the loss of motor neurons. After diagnosis, the average lifespan ranges from 3 to 5 years, and death usually results from respiratory failure. Although the pathogenesis of ALS remains unclear, multiple factors are thought to contribute to the progression of ALS, such as network interactions between genes, environmental exposure, impaired molecular pathways and many others. The neuroprotective properties of neural stem cells (NSCs) and the paracrine signaling of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been examined in multiple pre‐clinical trials of ALS with promising results. The data from these initial trials indicate a reduction in the rate of disease progression. The mechanism through which stem cells achieve this reduction is of major interest. Here, we review the to‐date pre‐clinical and clinical therapeutic approaches employing stem cells, and discuss the most promising ones.