Applying stem cell therapy in intractable diseases: a narrative review of decades of progress and challenges

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Background and objective Stem cell therapy (SCT) is one of the vastly researched branches of regenerative medicine as a therapeutic tool to treat incurable diseases. With the use of human stem cells such as embryonic stem cells (ESCs), adult stem cells (ASCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), stem cell therapy aims to regenerate or repair damaged tissues and congenital defects. As stem cells are able to undergo infinite self-renewal, differentiate into various types of cells and secrete protective paracrine factors, many researchers have investigated the potential of SCT in regenerative medicine. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive review on the recent application of SCT in various intractable diseases, namely, haematological diseases, neurological diseases, diabetes mellitus, retinal degenerative disorders and COVID-19 infections along with the challenges faced in the clinical translation of SCT. Methods An extensive search was conducted on Google scholar, PubMed and Clinicaltrials.gov using related keywords. Latest articles on stem cell therapy application in selected diseases along with their challenges in clinical applications were selected. Key content and findings In vitro and in vivo studies involving SCT are shown to be safe and efficacious in treating various diseases covered in this review. There are also a number of small-scale clinical t

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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