Molecular imaging in stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury.
Fahuan SongMei TianHong ZhangPublished in: BioMed research international (2014)
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious disease of the center nervous system (CNS). It is a devastating injury with sudden loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic function distal to the level of trauma and produces great personal and societal costs. Currently, there are no remarkable effective therapies for the treatment of SCI. Compared to traditional treatment methods, stem cell transplantation therapy holds potential for repair and functional plasticity after SCI. However, the mechanism of stem cell therapy for SCI remains largely unknown and obscure partly due to the lack of efficient stem cell trafficking methods. Molecular imaging technology including positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical imaging (i.e., bioluminescence imaging (BLI)) gives the hope to complete the knowledge concerning basic stem cell biology survival, migration, differentiation, and integration in real time when transplanted into damaged spinal cord. In this paper, we mainly review the molecular imaging technology in stem cell therapy for SCI.
Keyphrases
- spinal cord injury
- stem cells
- spinal cord
- positron emission tomography
- magnetic resonance imaging
- computed tomography
- stem cell transplantation
- neuropathic pain
- high resolution
- cell therapy
- healthcare
- high dose
- pet ct
- contrast enhanced
- pet imaging
- heart rate variability
- low dose
- minimally invasive
- blood brain barrier
- mesenchymal stem cells
- heart rate
- mass spectrometry
- high speed
- fluorescence imaging