Cell-based Treatment of Cerebral Palsy: Still a Long Way Ahead

Abstract

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a permanent neurodevelopmental disorder with considerable global disability. Various rehabilitation strategies are currently available. However, none represents a convincing curative result. Cellular therapy recently holds much promise as an alternative strategy to repair neurologic defects.

Method: In this narrative review, a comprehensive search of the MEDLINE and ClinicalTrials.gov was made, using the terms: "cell therapy" and "cerebral palsy", including published and registered clinical studies, respectively.

Results: The early effects of these studies demonstrated that using cell therapy in CP patients is safe and improves the deficits for a variable duration. Despite such hopeful early bird results, the long-term outcomes are not conclusive.

Conclusions: Due to the heterogeneous nature of CP, personal factors seem essential to consider. Cell dosage, routes of administration, and repeated dosing are pivotal to establish optimal personalized treatments. Future clinical trials should consider employing other cell types, specific cell modifications before administration, and cell-free platforms.

Keywords: Cerebral palsy; cell therapy; cell-based therapy; clinical trial; regenerative medicine; stem cells.