Neural stem cell-based therapies and glioblastoma management: current evidence and clinical challenges

Gliomas, which account for nearly a quarter of all primary CNS tumors, present significant contemporary therapeutic challenges, particularly the highest-grade variant (glioblastoma multiforme), which has an especially poor prognosis. These difficulties are due to the tumor’s aggressiveness and the adverse effects of radio/chemotherapy on the brain. Stem cell therapy is an exciting area of research being explored for several medical issues. Neural stem cells, normally present in the subventricular zone and the hippocampus, preferentially migrate to tumor masses. Thus, they have two main advantages: They can minimize the side effects associated with systemic radio/chemotherapy while simultaneously maximizing drug delivery to the tumor site. Another feature of stem cell therapy is the variety of treatment approaches it allows. Stem cells can be genetically engineered into expressing a wide variety of immunomodulatory substances that can inhibit tumor growth. They can also be used as delivery vehicles for oncolytic viral vectors, which can then be used to combat the tumorous mass. An alternative approach would be to combine stem cells with prodrugs, which can subsequently convert them into the active form upon migration to the tumor mass. As with any therapeutic modality still in its infancy, much of the research regarding their use is primarily based upon knowledge gained from animal studies, and a number of ongoing clinical trials are currently investigating their effectiveness in humans. The aim of this review is to highlight the current state of stem cell therapy in the treatment of gliomas, exploring the different mechanistic approaches, clinical applicability, and the existing limitations

A Literature review of traumatic brain injury biomarkers

Research into TBI biomarkers has accelerated rapidly in the past decade owing to the heterogeneous nature of TBI pathologies  and management, which pose challenges to TBI evaluation, management, and prognosis. TBI biomarker proteins resulting  from axonal, neuronal, or glial cell injuries are widely used and have been extensively studied. However, they might not pass  the blood-brain barrier with sufcient amounts to be detected in peripheral blood specimens, and further might not be detectable in the cerebrospinal fuid owing to fow limitations triggered by the injury itself. Despite the advances in TBI research,  there is an unmet clinical need to develop and identify novel TBI biomarkers that entirely correlate with TBI pathologies on  the molecular level, including mild TBI, and further enable physicians to predict patient outcomes and allow researchers to  test neuroprotective agents to limit the extents of injury. Although the extracellular vesicles have been identifed and studied  long ago, they have recently been revisited and repurposed as potential TBI biomarkers that overcome the many limitations  of the traditional blood and CSF assays. Animal and human experiments demonstrated the accuracy of several types of  exosomes and miRNAs in detecting mild, moderate, and severe TBI. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of  the traditional TBI biomarkers that are helpful in clinical practice. Also, we highlight the emerging roles of exosomes and  miRNA being the promising candidates under investigation of current research. </p