Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) represents a debilitating neurological condition with a rising incidence, posing serious threats to patients’ quality of life and their ability to engage in social activities. Despite some symptomatic relief and disease-modifying effects offered by conventional therapies, their capacity to facilitate neural regeneration and restore lost functions remains limited. In recent years, neural stem cells (NSCs) have emerged as a promising avenue in the field of SCI repair, owing to their inherent abilities of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. NSCs contribute significantly to the reconstruction of damaged spinal tissue by modulating the local microenvironment, supporting remyelination, and enhancing neural recovery through a combination of cell replacement, secretion of neurotrophic molecules, and immunoregulatory mechanisms. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the roles and mechanisms by which NSCs participate in SCI repair, along with commonly used evaluation strategies such as imaging techniques, electrophysiological measurements, and behavioral assessments. However, the clinical translation of NSC-based therapies remains constrained by several unresolved issues, including the poor survival of grafted cells, variable neuronal differentiation rates, potential oncogenic risks, and heterogeneous outcomes across different injury models. These findings offer deeper insights into the pathophysiology of SCI and lay a theoretical foundation for developing innovative approaches to stem cell-based interventions in clinical settings.