Title:Nanoparticle and Stem Cell Combination Therapy for the Management of Stroke
Volume: 29
Issue: 1
Author(s): Mehdi Farhoudi, Saeed Sadigh-Eteghad, Afsaneh Farjami and Sara Salatin*
Affiliation:
- Neurosciences Research Center (NSRC), Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Keywords:
Stroke, brain, central nervous system, blood-brain barrier, stem cell therapy, nanoparticle.
Abstract: Stroke is currently one of the primary causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Unfortunately,
the available treatments for stroke are still extremely limited. Indeed, stem cell (SC) therapy is a new option for
the treatment of stroke that could significantly expand the therapeutic time window of stroke. Some proposed
mechanisms for stroke-based SC therapy are the incorporation of SCs into the host brain to replace dead or damaged
cells/tissues. Moreover, acute cell delivery can inhibit apoptosis and decrease lesion size, providing immunomudolatory
and neuroprotection effects. However, several major SC problems related to SCs such as homing,
viability, uncontrolled differentiation, and possible immune response, have limited SC therapy. A combination
of SC therapy with nanoparticles (NPs) can be a solution to address these challenges. NPs have received
considerable attention in regulating and controlling the behavior of SCs because of their unique physicochemical
properties. By reviewing the pathophysiology of stroke and the therapeutic benefits of SCs and NPs, we hypothesize
that combined therapy will offer a promising future in the field of stroke management. In this work,
we discuss recent literature in SC research combined with NP-based strategies that may have a synergistic outcome
after stroke incidence.