HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Review

Neural stem cells and the quest for restorative neurology

J.M. Luque and M. Giménez y Ribotta

Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández-CSIC, San Juan de Alicante, Spain

Offprint request to: Dr. M. Giménez y Ribotta or Dr. Juan M. Luque, Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Campus de San Juan s/n, E-03550 San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. e-mail: mgimenez@umh.es; luque@umh.es

 

Summary. A great deal of interest has attracted the attention of researchers on the potential use of (neural) stem cells in cell replacement or restorative therapies for heretofore incurable CNS pathologies such as brain stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. This short perspective illustrates our view of neural stem cell research with a focus on the stem cell concept, on the in situ identity of neural stem cells and on selected aspects of embryonic and adult neurogenesis. A brief survey of current stem cell-based experimental literature tries to provide a realistic picture of how far we have gone in the quest to establish a restorative neurology. Histol. Histopathol. 19, 271-280 (2004)

Key words: Neuroregeneration, Neurodegeneration, Brain stroke, Multiple sclerosis, Spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, Neurogenesis, Stem cells, Stem niche, cellular therapy, subventricular zone, subgranular zone, astrocyte, radial glia, ependymocyte, GFAP

DOI: 10.14670/HH-19.271