Basic Aspect: Neurorepair After Stroke

This chapter discusses the scientific premise of stem cell-based therapies aimed at repairing damage produced by cerebrovascular insults in the adult human brain. Understanding the principles that govern stem cell biology will be of crucial importance to help designing treatment strategies for regenerative medicine. For this reason, the chapter is divided in two sections. The first part will touch upon pivotal basic research that has paved the way to a fuller comprehension of neurogenesis in the developing and adult brain. Interestingly, many molecular mechanisms that play roles in neurogenesis are shared between brain development and adulthood. Therefore, studies that have focused on brain formation have also guided investigations around homeostatic neurogenesis, as well as regenerative repair of the adult brain. The second section of this chapter will introduce recent biomedical investigations around the possibilities of initiating ectopic neuroregenerative programmes, or boosting physiological cell turnover rates for regenerative repair. In this context, we will discuss opportunities for promoting endogenous neurogenesis that may be generated from actual or potential stem cells residing throughout the brain. Finally, we will discuss experimental approaches aiming to replace lost neurons using endogenous sources.