Application of Stem Cell Therapy in Neurological Disorders: A Systematic Review
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Abstract
Background: Stem cell–based therapy has emerged as a promising regenerative and immunomodulatory approach for neurological disorders, but clinical efficacy remains uncertain because trials differ in disease condition, cell type, delivery route, comparator, and outcome selection. Objective: This systematic review evaluated recent clinical evidence on the safety and efficacy of stem cell–based therapies in adults with neurological disorders. Methods: A structured search of Google Scholar, PEDro, PubMed, TRIP, and MEDLINE was conducted in February 2024 and updated in August 2024. English-language human clinical studies published from 2019 to 2024 were screened. Eligible studies included adults with neurological disorders who received stem cell–based or cell-associated therapy and reported neurological, survival, disability, quality-of-life, biomarker, or safety outcomes. Methodological quality was assessed using trial appraisal domains from PEDro, the JBI checklist, and Cochrane RoB 2. Results: Five studies involving 540 participants were included. Conditions studied were glioblastoma, ischemic stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and primary central nervous system lymphoma. Interventions were generally reported as tolerable. Efficacy was heterogeneous: glioblastoma showed a 2.2-month progression-free survival benefit, PCNSL showed higher two-year progression-free survival with myeloablative consolidation, ALS and MS showed subgroup-level benefits, while ischemic stroke showed no clear superiority over placebo. Conclusion: Stem cell–based therapies appear tolerable in selected neurological trials, but efficacy remains inconsistent, condition-specific, and often subgroup-dependent. Larger standardized trials with long-term follow-up are required
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