title: Mesenchymal stem cells for treatment of CNS injury.
abstract: Brain and spinal cord injuries present significant therapeutic challenges. The treatments available for these conditions are largely ineffective, partly due to limitations in directly targeting the therapeutic agents to sites of pathology within the central nervous system (CNS). The use of stem cells to treat these conditions presents a novel therapeutic strategy. A variety of stem cell treatments have been examined in animal models of CNS trauma. Many of these studies have used stem cells as a cell-replacement strategy. These investigations have also highlighted the significant limitations of this approach. Another potential strategy for stem cell therapy utilises stem cells as a delivery mechanism for therapeutic molecules. This review surveys the literature relevant to the potential of mesenchymal stem cells for delivery of therapeutic agents in CNS trauma in humans.
authors.affiliation: Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. Australia.
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Azari
authors.forename: Louisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mathias
authors.forename: Ezgi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ozturk
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Cram
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petratos