Stem Cell Therapy in Neurological Disorders

Organisers: Yasser El-Wazir

Clinical disorders of the nervous system have very limited classical therapeutic tools, which depend mainly on trying to enhance the function of the remaining undamaged neurons in the affected area. The results of such conventional therapeutic techniques are usually associated with significant residual disability. The advent of stem cell-based therapy has started a new hope of more radical treatment of diseases of the nervous system through replacement of the damaged cells and restoration of function is.

The goal of this symposium is to provide an update on new and promising area of treatment of neurological diseases. It will start by an introduction about the characters, types, and sources of stem cells. Then, the second presentation will deal with the use of stem cells in degenerative diseases of the nervous system e.g. Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The third presentation will address the potential use of stem cells in traumatic injury of the spinal cord which is a common disabling neurological disorder. And the last presentation will focus on neurogenesis in the adult brain. I t was previously thought that neurogenesis occurs only during the embryonic and early post-natal life. Recent studies have documented the occurrence of neurogenesis in at least two sites in the adult brain; the hippocampus and olfactory bulb. Other studies have raised a more ambitious possibility of activating the endogenous neural progenitors in other brain regions which can be a breakthrough in the management of neurological diseases.

Speakers and Topics

What are Stem cells?
Amani El-Baz, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt, Postal code: 41522

Stem cell therapy in spinal cord injury
Hassan El-Shatoury, Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt, Postal code: 41522

Stem cell therapy in degenerative neurological disorders
Mohamed Abdo, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt, Postal code: 41522

Neurogenesis in the adult brain
Yasser El-Wazir, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt, Postal code: 41522

Key Words: Stem cells, Degenerative diseases, Nervous system, Spinal cord injury Neurogenesis