Stroke is the leading cause of disability for adults. Excepted hospitalization in specialized Stroke Unit, the only treatment for ischemic stroke is thrombolysis which has to be done only during the first hours after the stroke onset. Enhance post-stroke cerebral plasticity is a major therapeutic aim. For this purpose, cell therapy, based on stem cell injection (or graft) and neural repair, leads to functional benefit in experimental models of cerebral ischemia. However, several issues remain about mechanisms of action, delivery routes, and better cell doses to use. Otherwise, only few data were obtained in humans from the first clinical trials. Our research, in the Grenoble Institut of Neurosciences (GIN U836, France), aims to assess the benefit of mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) therapy after experimental stroke, and to understand the different mechanisms of action. In parallel, we have started a phase II clinical trial of intravenous MSC after stroke (ISIS-HERMES).
