Cell Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Opportunities and Pitfalls

Today, stem cell transplantation is a hot topic in scientific circles as a noveltherapeutic approach to repair the structure and function of central nervoussystem. The safe and neuroprotective effects of cell therapy in models andtraumatic brain injury patients were evaluated in many experimental andclinical studies in recent decade and somewhat promising results were providedto the scientific community. Nevertheless, there are still obstacles in translatingexperimental studies in the laboratory into clinical practice that should not beoverlooked. In this review study, a brief explanation is provided aboutbiological events and endogenic neurogenesis and angiogenesis after TBI; theperformance of transplanted cells in restoration of damaged neurons; the roleand potential use of mesenchymal stem cells as adult stem cells preferred in celltransplantation and clinical trials ever conducted in this area; features of celltransplant candidates who will most benefit from transplantation, the type ofand proper time for cell transplantation, optimal method for conductingtransplant to deliver cells to the brain, and the best dose for effectiveness oftransplantation. Finally, the various neuroimaging techniques are discussed,which are used to track and evaluate the survival and implantation oftransplanted cells.