Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32691994›Full record

ReviewStem cells translational medicine2020

The leading edge: Emerging neuroprotective and neuroregenerative cell-based therapies for spinal cord injury.

Christopher S Ahuja, Andrea Mothe, Mohamad Khazaei, Jetan H Badhiwala, Emily A Gilbert, Derek van der Kooy, Cindi M Morshead, Charles Tator, Michael G Fehlings

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Stem cells translational medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
82citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
12.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

82 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 141 citations in OpenAlex.

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  16. Circuit Reconstruction after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury by Cellular and Pharmacological Approaches.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
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22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Christopher S AhujaDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Andrea MotheDepartment of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, UHN, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mohamad KhazaeiDepartment of Genetics and Development, Krembil Research Institute, UHN, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jetan H BadhiwalaDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Emily A GilbertDivision of Anatomy, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Derek van der KooyDepartment of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Cindi M MorsheadInstitute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Charles TatorDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Michael G FehlingsDivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-5722-6364
University of Toronto · CAKrembil Foundation · CAKrembil Research Institute

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are associated with tremendous physical, social, and financial costs for millions of individuals and families worldwide. Rapid delivery of specialized medical and surgical care has reduced mortality; however, long-term functional recovery remains limited. Cell-based therapies represent an exciting neuroprotective and neuroregenerative strategy for SCI. This article summarizes the most promising preclinical and clinical cell approaches to date including transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells, neural stem cells, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, Schwann cells, and olfactory ensheathing cells, as well as strategies to activate endogenous multipotent cell pools. Throughout, we emphasize the fundamental biology of cell-based therapies, critical features in the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury, and the strengths and limitations of each approach. We also highlight salient completed and ongoing clinical trials worldwide and the bidirectional translation of their findings. We then provide an overview of key adjunct strategies such as trophic factor support to optimize graft survival and differentiation, engineered biomaterials to provide a support scaffold, electrical fields to stimulate migration, and novel approaches to degrade the glial scar. We also discuss important considerations when initiating a clinical trial for a cell therapy such as the logistics of clinical-grade cell line scale-up, cell storage and transportation, and the delivery of cells into humans. We conclude with an outlook on the future of cell-based treatments for SCI and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in the field.

Indexed as

HumansNerve RegenerationNeuroprotectionSpinal Cord Injuriesclinical trialsneuroprotectionneuroregenerationspinal cord injurystem cells

Identifiers

PMID32691994
PMCPMC7695641
OpenAlexW3045013597

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.