Current Drug Targets - Volume 6, Issue 1, 2005

Gene and Cell therapies have paved the way to a new era in the treatment of human diseases. Knowledge about the potentiality and limits of such therapeutical tools is of great interest. The use of antisense oligonucleotides and more recently, of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) as selective inhibitors of gene expression, offers a rational approach to the prevention and treatment of some gene-mediated disorders. In this gene Read More

Advances in cell biology have encouraged the hope that stem cell-based therapy can be used to heal central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Here, we will review the potential application of neural cell transplantation for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other demyelinating disorders, mention some problematic issues that still face this therapeutic approach, and describe novel noninvasive methods for in vivo tracking o Read More

The complexity of the central nervous system (CNS) exposes it to a number of different diseases, often caused by only small variations in gene sequence or expression level. Antisense oligonucleotides and RNA interference-mediated therapies hold great promise for the treatment of CNS diseases in which neurodegeneration is linked to overproduction of endogenous protein or to synthesis of aberrant proteins coded by do Read More

Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are adult stem cells that reside within the bone marrow compartment. In the traditional developmental model, adult stem cells are able to differentiate only to the tissue in which they reside. Recent data have challenged the committed fate of the adult stem cells, presenting evidence for their multilineage differentiation potential. In addition, potential therapeutic benefits Read More

Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable, adult-onset, dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease, caused by a CAG expansion in the 5' coding region of the gene HD [encoding huntingtin (htt), which is ubiquitously expressed in all tissues]. The disease progresses inexorably with devastating clinical effects on motor, cognitive and psychological functions; death occurring approximately 18 years from the time of onset. These cl Read More

There is growing evidence to suggest that reservoirs of stem cells may reside in several types of adult tissue. These cells may retain the potential to transdifferentiate from one phenotype to another, presenting exciting possibilities for cellular therapies. Recent discoveries in the area of neural differentiation are particularly exciting given the limited capacity of neural tissue for intrinsic repair and regeneration. Adult adipose tiss Read More

The mechanical force incurred by spinal cord injury results in degenerative neural tissue damage beyond the site of initial injury. By nature, the central nervous system (CNS) does not regenerate itself. Cell therapy, in particular, stem cell implantation has become a possible solution for spinal cord injury. Embryonic stem cells and fetal stem cells are the forefathers of the field of stem cell therapy. Isolation and preparation of sp Read More

Neuropathic pain is defined as pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the nervous system. It is a devastating and difficult to manage consequence of peripheral nerve injury and has a variety of clinical symptoms. Neuropathic pain is a major health problem. It has been estimated that 70% of patients with advanced cancer and inflammatory pathologies are afflicted by chronic pain. About 95% of patients Read More

Cell therapy will probably become a major therapeutic strategy for neuronal disorders in the coming years. Nevertheless, due to poor survival of grafted cells and limited differentiation and integration in the host tissue, certain ameliorations must be envisaged. To address these difficulties, several strategies have been developed and among them, two methods seem particularly promising : in situ controlled drug delivery an Read More

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are present not only in the developing nervous systems, but also in the adult human central nervous system (CNS). It is long thought that the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus are the main sources of human adult NSCs, which are considered to be a reservoir of new neural cells. Recently adult NSCs with potential neural capacity have been isolated f Read More

Neural stem/progenitor cells capable of generating new neurons and glia, reside in specific areas of the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS), including the ependymal region of the spinal cord and the subventricular zone (SVZ), hippocampus, and dentate gyrus of the brain. Much is known about the neurogenic regions in the CNS, and their response to various stimuli including injury, neurotrophins (NFs), morphogens, Read More