title: Stem cell therapy in neurodegenerative diseases: From principles to practice.
abstract: The lack of curative therapies for neurodegenerative diseases has high economic impact and places huge burden on the society. The contribution of stem cells to cure neurodegenerative diseases has been unraveled and explored extensively over the past few years. Beyond substitution of the lost neurons, stem cells act as immunomodulators and neuroprotectors. A large number of preclinical and a small number of clinical studies have shown beneficial outcomes in this context. In this review, we have summarized the current concepts of stem cell therapy in neurodegenerative diseases and the recent advances in this field, particularly between 2010 and 2012. Further studies should be encouraged to resolve the clinical issues and vague translational findings for maximum optimization of the efficacy of stem cell therapy in neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Bandar Tun Razak 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rajalingham
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakthiswary
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Bandar Tun Razak 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Azman Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Raymond
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Huntington's disease; Parkinson's disease; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; embryonic stem cells; induced pluripotent stem cells; mesenchymal stem cells; neural stem cells; neurodegenerative diseases; stem cells