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Review
. 2023 Jan-Dec:32:9636897231158967.
doi: 10.1177/09636897231158967.

Stem Cells: Recent Developments Redefining Epilepsy Therapy

Adam Alayli  1 , Gavin Lockard  1 , Jonah Gordon  1 , Jacob Connolly  1 , Molly Monsour  1 , Samantha Schimmel  1 , Ike Dela Peña  2 , Cesar V Borlongan  3
Affiliations
Review

Stem Cells: Recent Developments Redefining Epilepsy Therapy

Adam Alayli et al. Cell Transplant. 2023 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

The field of stem cell therapy is growing rapidly and hopes to offer an alternative solution to diseases that are historically treated medically or surgically. One such focus of research is the treatment of medically refractory epilepsy, which is traditionally approached from a surgical or interventional standpoint. Research shows that stem cell transplantation has potential to offer significant benefits to the epilepsy patient by reducing seizure frequency, intensity, and neurological deficits that often result from the condition. This review explores the basic science progress made on the topic of stem cells and epilepsy by focusing on experiments using animal models and highlighting the most recent developments from the last 4 years.

Keywords: epilepsy; neurological disease; stem cell therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: C.V.B. declared leadership position with University of South Florida, patents holder and patent applications on stem cell biology and its therapeutic applications, consultant to a number of stem cell–based companies, and research funding from the NIH. All of the other authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The primary underlying pathophysiology of epilepsy: aberrant excitatory and inhibitory signaling at the neural level. Stem cells may ameliorate this imbalance in signaling pathways, while also promoting brain repair secondary to epileptic episodes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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