Neurological disorders are a complex group of conditions affecting the nervous system of individuals. It has thwarted the many attempts of the scientific community to find a definitive treatment. Due to impairment of cognitive and motor skills, individuals often suffer from poor mental well-being. The existing therapies only improve the quality of life and mitigate symptoms, but do not provide long-lasting relief. The rising cases of these disorders have created an urgent need for suitable therapy. The ongoing developments in regenerative medicine can provide treatment for neurological disorders.
Understanding Neurological and Functional Neurological Disorders
Neurological disorders can be classified into many types depending on their causes
Neurodegenerative Disorders: They originate due to the deterioration of nervous tissue and subsequent decline in function. For example, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease. These disorders occur due to age-related changes in the tissue.
Neurodevelopmental Disorders: These disorders develop in childhood due to inadequate development of the neural circuitry in the brain. For example, autism spectrum disorder.
Neurotraumatic Disorders: As the name indicates, these disorders occur due to injury in the nervous tissue. For example, brain stroke, spinal cord injury.
Functional Neurological Disorder: This disorder includes the manifestation of neurological symptoms in the absence of damage to the nervous system. The symptoms occur due to psychiatric conditions rather than a physical one.
Treatments for Neurological Disorders
The treatments can be classified into pharmacological drugs and rehabilitation therapies. Drugs focus on the management of symptoms and the comorbidities that exist with the disorder. For example, blood thinners can reduce or prevent blood clotting in the brain and muscle relaxants can act on spasms. The neurological diseases often affect cognitive, sensory, and motor skills. As a result, affected individuals suffer from depression, anxiety, and poor mental health. Medications such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc., assist in improving mental well-being.
The rehabilitation therapies aim to improve the functional independence of affected individuals through speech, occupational, and behavioral therapies. Treatment of functional neurological disorder involves psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), hypnotherapy, physical therapy, etc., for emotional regulation and expression. The therapies for functional neurological disorder focus on better management of the traumatic life events or stressors that triggered the disorder.
Current Challenges in Treatment
The medications available for the treatment of neurological diseases have limited effects and do not address the damage or degeneration of the nervous tissue. The rehabilitation therapies improve the quality of life, but cannot act on the underlying pathology of the disorder. These treatments cannot ensure lasting effects. Therefore, the present treatment modalities are insufficient in their action. A suitable treatment should concentrate on repairing the tissue decline for complete structural and functional restoration. Such innovative therapy is the need of the hour.
The Promise of Regenerative Medicine
Regenerative Medicine caters to the repair of the damaged or deteriorated tissue. Thus, it can provide the necessary treatment for neurological disorders. Stem cells in regenerative medicine have been a breakthrough with their self-renewal and differentiation capacities. They can proliferate and transform into nerve cells, thereby compensating for the tissue loss. These cells also have the ability to promote the growth of neural pathways. Studies have also revealed that they induce healing mechanisms and cell multiplication in the damaged tissue. With the growth of scientific advances, new stem cell-based therapies are emerging to treat neurological diseases.
How Stem Cells Work in the Nervous System
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the most explored stem cell type for the treatment of neurological diseases. In addition to the regenerative ability, they demonstrate a few more properties that have given them the advantage over other cell types. MSCs secrete factors that protect nerve cells. It helps in preventing further damage to healthy nerve cells. Furthermore, MSCs have immune-modulation features that shift the immune response towards tissue repair. The anti-inflammatory characteristics of MSCs allow them to reduce inflammation, which can damage cells. Clinical studies employing MSCs or nerve cells formed from MSCs have shown positive results. The treatment showed improved tissue functioning and alleviated symptoms. The research also demonstrated that adverse effects are absent in stem cell treatments.
Summing Up
Neurological disorders have a substantial impact on a person’s life. The difficulties in communication and movement in these disorders cause a serious decline in the quality of life. The situation is always associated with poor mental well-being. Scientists have been formulating an adequate treatment modality. The multiple causes of the disorders can be condensed into the neural damage. The medications that can reverse tissue damage do not exist in the pharmacological domain. However, regenerative medicine has offered hope with its stem cell therapies.
Stem cell therapy restores tissue functioning with its regenerative potential. Studies on humans have explored the potential of stem cell therapies in neurological diseases. Not only did these studies prove the effectiveness in improving functions, but they also deemed these therapies safe for use. With the growth of scientific research, stem cell treatments are soon going to become standard therapy for neurological disorders. Advancells, with their premium quality stem cells, is keeping this hope alive.
