Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy in Intracerebral Haemorrhagic Stroke

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is a relatively common fatal disease, with an overall global incidence estimated at 24.6 per 100,000 person- years. Given the high degree of morbidity and mortality associated with ICH, therapies that may have neuroprotective effects are of increasing interest to clinicians. In this last context, cell therapies offer the promise of improving the disease course which cannot be addressed adequately by existing treatments. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to evaluate the protective effects and molecular mechanisms of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on haemorrhagic brain following ICH. We also discuss possible emerging therapeutic approaches worth of further research. METHODS AND RESULTS: The available literature on the therapeutic potential of MSCs in ICH animal models clearly demonstrated that MSCs enhance the functional recovery and reduce the volume of the infarct size exerting anti-inflammatory and angiogenic properties. However, the quality of the original articles investigating the efficacy of stem cell therapies in ICH animal models is still poor and the lack of ICH clinical trial does not permit to reach any relevant conclusions. CONCLUSION: Further studies have to be implemented in order to achieve standardized methods of MSCs isolation, characterization and administration to improve ICH treatments with MSCs or MSC-derived products.