Title:Stem Cell-based Therapeutic and Diagnostic Approaches in Alzheimer's
Disease
Volume: 20
Issue: 6
Author(s): Sadaf Abdi, Nima Javanmehr, Maryam Ghasemi-Kasman*, Hanie Yavarpour Bali and Marzieh Pirzadeh
Affiliation:
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research
Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
- Neuroscience Research
Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
Keywords:
Neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease, aging, stem cell therapy, exosomes, clinical trial.
Abstract:
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative impairment mainly recognized
by memory loss and cognitive deficits. However, the current therapies against AD are mostly
limited to palliative medications, prompting researchers to investigate more efficient therapeutic
approaches for AD, such as stem cell therapy. Recent evidence has proposed that extensive neuronal
and synaptic loss and altered adult neurogenesis, which is perceived pivotal in terms of plasticity
and network maintenance, occurs early in the course of AD, which exacerbates neuronal vulnerability
to AD. Thus, regeneration and replenishing the depleted neuronal networks by strengthening the
endogenous repair mechanisms or exogenous stem cells and their cargoes is a rational therapeutic
approach. Currently, several stem cell-based therapies as well as stem cell products like exosomes,
have shown promising results in the early diagnosis of AD.
Objective: This review begins with a comparison between AD and normal aging pathophysiology
and a discussion on open questions in the field. Next, summarizing the current stem cell-based therapeutic
and diagnostic approaches, we declare the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Also, we comprehensively evaluate the human clinical trials of stem cell therapies for AD.
Methodology: Peer-reviewed reports were extracted through Embase, PubMed, and Google Scholar
until 2021.
Results: With several ongoing clinical trials, stem cells and their derivatives (e.g., exosomes) are an
emerging and encouraging field in diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative diseases. Although
stem cell therapies have been successful in animal models, numerous clinical trials in AD patients
have yielded unpromising results, which we will further discuss.