Cell Therapy Stem Cells And Brain Repair

As our world continues to evolve, the field of regenerative medicine f- lows suit. Although many modern day therapies focus on synthetic and na- ral medicinal treatments for brain repair, many of these treatments and prescriptions lack adequate results or only have the ability to slow the p- gression of neurological disease or injury. Cell therapy, however, remains the most compelling treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, disorders, and injuries, including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and stroke, which is expanded upon in more detail in Chapter 1 by Snyder and colleagues. Cell therapy is also unique in that it is the only therapeutic strategy that strives to replace lost, damaged, or dysfunctional cells with healthy ones. This repair and replacement may be due to an administration of exogenous cells itself or the activation of the body’s own endogenous reparative cells by a trophic, immune, or inflammatory response to cell transplantation. However, the precise mechanism of how cell therapy works remains elusive and is c- tinuing to be investigated in terms of molecular and cellular responses, in particular. Moreover, Chapter 11 by Emerich and associates, discusses some of the possibilities of cell immunoisolation and the potential for treating central nervous system diseases.

A scientist assesses the potential of stem cell therapies for treating such brain disorders as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Stem cell therapies are the subject of enormous hype, endowed by the media with almost magical qualities and imagined by the public to bring about miracle cures. Stem cells have the potential to generate new cells of different types, and have been shown to do so in certain cases. Could stem cell transplants repair the damaged brain? In this book, neurobiologist Jack Price assesses the potential of stem cell therapies to treat such brain disorders as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injuries. Certainly brain disorders are in need of effective treatments. These disorders don't just kill, they disable, and conventional drug therapies have not had much success in treating them. Price explains that repairing the human brain is difficult, largely because of its structural, functional, and developmental complexity. He examines the self-repairing capacity of blood and gut cells—and the lack of such capacity in the brain; describes the limitations of early brain stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative disorders; and discusses current clinical trials that may lead to the first licensed stem cell therapies for stroke, Parkinson's and macular degeneration. And he describes the real promise of pluripotential stem cells, which can make all the cell types that constitute the body. New technologies, Price reports, challenge the very notion of cell transplantation, instead seeking to convince the brain itself to manufacture the new cells it needs. Could this be the true future of brain repair?

This issue of Progress in Brain Research is split over 2 volumes, bringing together cutting-edge research on Functional Neural Transplantation. The 2 volumes review current knowledge and understanding, provide a starting point for researchers and practitioners entering the field, and build a platform for further research and discovery. Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation, and provide their views and perspectives for future research Chapters are extensively referenced to provide readers with a comprehensive list of resources on the topics covered All chapters include comprehensive background information and are written in a clear form that is also accessible to the non-specialist

Cell Therapy for Brain Injury is a thorough examination of using state-of-the-art cell therapy in the treatment of strokes and other traumatic brain injuries. This invaluable book covers this niche topic in depth from basic stem cell biology and principles of cell therapy through proposed mechanisms of action of cell therapy in stroke, pre-clinical data in stroke models, ongoing clinical trials, imaging and tracking of cells with MRI, neural stem cells in stroke and the "big pharma" perspective of cell therapy. Each chapter is written by well-known leaders in each field, thus providing a wealth of expertise. The breadth of this book makes it essential reading for neuroscientists, stem cell biologists, researchers or clinical trialists at pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies. It also serves as a thorough introduction for graduate students or post-doctoral fellows who hope to work in these fields.

This issue of Progress in Brain Research is split over 2 volumes, bringing together cutting-edge research on functional neural transplantation. The 2 volumes review current knowledge and understanding, provide a starting point for researchers and practitioners entering the field, and build a platform for further research and discovery. Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation, and provide their views and perspectives for future research Chapters are extensively referenced to provide readers with a comprehensive list of resources on the topics covered All chapters include comprehensive background information and are written in a clear form that is also accessible to the non-specialist

Every year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans sustain brain injury. Long-term disabilities impact nearly half of moderate brain injury survivors and nearly 50,000 of these cases result in death. Brain Neurotrauma: Molecular, Neuropsychological, and Rehabilitation Aspects provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account on the latest developments in the area of neurotrauma, including brain injury pathophysiology, biomarker research, experimental models of CNS injury, diagnostic methods, and neurotherapeutic interventions as well as neurorehabilitation strategies in the field of neurotraum research. The book includes several sections on neurotrauma mechanisms, biomarker discovery, neurocognitive/neurobehavioral deficits, and neurorehabilitation and treatment approaches. It also contains a section devoted to models of mild CNS injury, including blast and sport-related injuries. Over the last decade, the field of neurotrauma has witnessed significant advances, especially at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels. This progress is largely due to the introduction of novel techniques, as well as the development of new animal models of central nervous system (CNS) injury. This book, with its diverse coherent content, gives you insight into the diverse and heterogeneous aspects of CNS pathology and/or rehabilitation needs.