The Dark Side of the Force - Constraints and Complications of Cell Therapies for Stroke

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• 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)

Cell therapies are increasingly recognized as a promising option to augment the limited therapeutic arsenal available to fight ischemic stroke. During the last two decades, cumulating preclinical evidence has indicated a substantial efficacy for most cell treatment paradigms and first clinical trials are currently underway to assess safety and feasibility in patients. However, the strong and still unmet demand for novel stroke treatment options and exciting findings reported from experimental studies may have drawn our attention away from potential side effects related to cell therapies and the ways by which they are commonly applied. This review summarizes common and less frequent adverse events that have been discovered in preclinical and clinical investigations assessing cell therapies for stroke. Such adverse events range from immunological and neoplastic complications over seizures to cell clotting and cell-induced embolism. It also describes potential complications of clinically applicable administration procedures, detrimental interactions between therapeutic cells, and the pathophysiological environment that they are placed into, as well as problems related to cell manufacturing. Virtually each therapeutic intervention comes at a certain risk for complications. Side effects do therefore not generally compromise the value of cell treatments for stroke, but underestimatin

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

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