title: Stem cells for ALS: An overview of possible therapeutic approaches.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland. Electronic address: joanna.czarzasta@uwm.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Czarzasta
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Habich
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Siwek
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland; Neurocentrum Bellevue, Neurology, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Czapliński
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Maksymowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland; Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland; Foundation for nerve cells regeneration, Olsztyn, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wojtkiewicz
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000601:surgery*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Risk factors; Stem cells therapy