Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2020, Vol. 15 ›› Issue (2): 242-250.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.265544

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Current status and future prospects of stem cell therapy in Alzheimer’s disease

Fu-Qiang Zhang1, Jin-Lan Jiang1, Jing-Tian Zhang2, Han Niu2, Xue-Qi Fu2, Lin-Lin Zeng2   

  1. 1 Scientific Research Centre of China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
    2 School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China
  • Online:2020-02-15 Published:2020-05-23
  • Contact: Xue-Qi Fu, PhD,fxq@jlu.edu.cn; Lin-Lin Zeng, PhD,zenglinlin@jlu.edu.cn.
  • Supported by:
    The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81701076 (to LLZ) and No. 31670795 (to XQF), 2017 Changbai Mountain Research Support Foundation, No. 440050117010 (to XQF), Opening Project of Zhejiang Provincial Top Key Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, No. YKFJ2-007 (to LLZ), grants from the Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province, China, No. 20190701037GH (to FQZ), 20180520138JH (to FQZ), 20190701036GH (to LLZ).

PDF

207

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease is a common progressive neurodegenerative disorder, pathologically characterized by the presence of β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Current treatment approaches using drugs only alleviate the symptoms without curing the disease, which is a serious issue and influences the quality of life of the patients and their caregivers. In recent years, stem cell technology has provided new insights into the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Currently, the main sources of stem cells include neural stem cells, embryonic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiology and general treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and the current state of stem cell transplantation in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. We also assess future challenges in the clinical application and drug development of stem cell transplantation as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Key words: Alzheimer’s disease, β-amyloid, drug development, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, nerve regeneration, neural regeneration, neural stem cells, neurodegenerative disorders, stem cell therapy