Editorial: Adult stem cells and tissue engineering in central nervous system regenerative medicine

[Excerpt] Neurological disorders and injuries are typically chronic and debilitating diseases that frequently lead to the premature death of afflicted individuals, thereby imposing a harsh emotional burden on their family members. These disorders/injuries, which include neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson and Huntington disease), epilepsy, neuromuscular disorders, spinal cord injury and stroke often pose unique challenges for treatment. Current therapies for CNS related disorders are based on the use of phar-macological agents, which often lead to serious side effects. Therefore there is a great interest in the possibility of repairing the nervous system by transplanting cells that can replace the lost cell populations or, in alternative, induce local neuronal pro-liferation, differentiation and consequent tissue regeneration. In the last years stem cells, and within them adult stem cells from different sources, have been in the forefront of a new wave of possible therapeutic strategies. In fact different routes have been followed so far. [...