Efficacy and safety of stem cells in the treatment of ischemic stroke: A meta-analysis

Background: Stem cell therapy on ischemic stroke has long been studied using animal experiments. The efficacy and safety of this treatment in ischemic stroke patients remain uncertain. Methods: We searched for all clinical randomized controlled trials published before October 2023, on PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library using predetermined search terms, and performed a meta-analysis of the efficacy of stem cell therapy in ischemic stroke patients. Results: 13 studies that included 592 ischemic stroke patients were reviewed. The mRS (MD −0.32, 95% CI −0.64 to 0.00, I 2 = 63%, P = .05), NIHSS (MD −1.63, 95% CI −2.69 to −0.57, I 2 = 58%, P = .003), and BI (MD 14.22, 95% CI 3.95–24.48, I 2 = 43%, P = .007) showed effective stem cell therapy. The mortality (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23–0.79, I 2 = 0%, P = .007) showed improved prognosis and reduce mortality with stem cell therapy. Conclusion: Stem cell therapy reduces mortality and improves the neurological prognosis of ischemic stroke patients. However, due to the different types of stem cells used and the limited data in the reported studies, the safety of clinical applications of stem cells in patients with ischemic stroke must be carefully evaluated. Future randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes from controlled cell sources are warranted to validate this finding.