Cell Therapy for Neurological Disorders

Neurological disorders are a difficult problem to solve in part because of the limited regenerative capacity of the central nervous system. Stem cells are a type of cells that can self-renew and differentiate into other cellular lineages. Stem cells and derivatives may be employed to replace the injured/lost neurons and glia, as well as to modulate the microenvironment. Due to the complexity of the nervous system, cellular therapy for neurological disorders remains challenging, as optimal results require precise determination on what cells to put in, when and where to deliver the cells, how to reconstruct the neuronal circuits, and how to nourish the niche, etc. Recent years have seen an accelerated pace of advance in the field of stem cell biology, which leads to some breakthroughs in the translational application and clinical trials for the treatment of some major neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. With a deeper understanding of the molecular biology of stem cells and a more intensive pre-clinical and clinical investigation, we will for sure witness the development of more safe and efficacious cellular drugs and interventional strategies in the future.

The research topic aims to present recent advances in the cell therapy field targeting neurological diseases/indications such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, and ALS. The scope may include basic research, translational studies, and clinical trials related to cellular (both exogenous and endogenous) and gene therapies for the above diseases.

We welcome the submission of Original Research, Methods, Review, Mini-Review, Clinical Trial, and Case Report that cover, but are not limited to the following topics:

• Basic research, translational research, or clinical trial related to cell therapy of Parkinson’s disease
• Basic research, translational research, or clinical trial related to cell therapy of Alzheimer’s disease
• Basic research, translational research, or clinical trial related to cell therapy of Stroke
• Basic research, translational research, or clinical trial related to cell therapy of Traumatic Brain Injury
• Basic research, translational research, or clinical trial related to cell therapy of Spinal Cord Injury
• Basic research, translational research, or clinical trial related to cell therapy of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• The cell therapy may involve exogenous cellular graft or endogenous neural cells with or without genetic modification