Cell Therapy for Neurological Disorders: The Perspective of Promising Cells

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Cell therapy has become a powerful method for regenerative medicine. However, there has not been an ideal cell type and cell source for the treatment of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. This review aims to introduce the potentials of different cells for treating neurological disorders by collecting the results from related clinical trials and recent animal studies. It is an overview of some promising cells that may be clinically used for neurological disorders. The characteristics of each cell type and the main mechanism of function are also described. ABSTRACT: Neurological disorders are big public health challenges that are afflicting hundreds of millions of people around the world. Although many conventional pharmacological therapies have been tested in patients, their therapeutic efficacies to alleviate their symptoms and slow down the course of the diseases are usually limited. Cell therapy has attracted the interest of many researchers in the last several decades and has brought new hope for treating neurological disorders. Moreover, numerous studies have shown promising results. However, none of the studies has led to a promising therapy for patients with neurological disorders, despite the ongoing and completed clinical trials. There are many factors that may affect the outcome of cell therapy for neurological disorders due to the complexity of the nervous system, especially cell types for transplantation and the specific disease for treatment. This paper provides a review of the various cell types from humans that may be clinically used for neurological disorders, based on their characteristics and current progress in related studies.