Potential roles of the neural stem cell in the restoration of the injured spinal cord: review of the literature.

The use of stem cells in the treatment of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in recent years has provided promising results. Different sources of cells for transplantation have been used, including neural progenitor cells (NPCs), neural stem cells (NSCs) or embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Experimental and clinical studies are currently underway to define the potentials of stem cells in the treatment of SCI. As implantation-based neural cellular restoratory therapy develops, SCI that has not been typically treated by surgical procedures, will be ultimately introduced within the realm of neurosurgery. It is thus imperative that neurosurgeons have an understanding of and in-depth training in research endeavors related to the field of stem cell biology. This paper aims to briefly review the current status and potential of using stem cells to repair experimental SCI.