Cell therapy has been widely recognized as a promising strategy to enhance recovery in stroke survivors. However, despite an abundance of encouraging preclinical data, successful clinical translation remains elusive. As the field continues to advance, it is important to reexamine prior clinical trials in the context of their intended mechanisms, as this can inform future preclinical and translational efforts. In the present work, we review the major clinical trials of cell therapy for stroke and highlight a mechanistic shift between the earliest studies, which aimed to replace dead and damaged neurons, and later ones that focused on exploiting the various neuromodulatory effects afforded by stem cells. We discuss why both mechanisms are worth pursuing and emphasize the means through which cell replacement can still be achieved.

中文翻译：

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中风的细胞疗法：机制分析

细胞疗法已被广泛认为是促进中风幸存者康复的有前途的策略。然而，尽管有大量令人鼓舞的临床前数据，但成功的临床转化仍然难以实现。随着该领域的不断发展，重要的是在其预期机制的背景下重新检查先前的临床试验，因为这可以为未来的临床前和转化工作提供信息。在目前的工作中，我们回顾了中风细胞疗法的主要临床试验，并强调了早期研究之间的机制转变，该研究旨在替换死亡和受损的神经元，而后来的研究则侧重于利用干细胞提供的各种神经调节作用. 我们讨论了为什么这两种机制都值得追求，并强调仍然可以实现细胞替换的方法。