Cerebral ischemic injury is the main manifestation of stroke, and its incidence in stroke patients is 70-80%. Although ischemic stroke can be treated with tissue-type plasminogen activator, its time window of effectiveness is narrow. Therefore, the incidence of paralysis, hypoesthesia, aphasia, dysphagia, and cognitive impairment caused by cerebral ischemia is high. Nerve tissue regeneration can promote the recovery of the aforementioned dysfunction. Neural stem cells can participate in the reconstruction of the damaged nervous system and promote the recovery of nervous function during self-repair of damaged brain tissue. Neural stem cell transplantation for ischemic stroke has been a hot topic for more than 10 years. This review discusses the treatment of ischemic stroke with neural stem cells, as well as the mechanisms of their involvement in stroke treatment.
Keywords: cell transplantation; cerebral ischemia; functional recovery; ischemic stroke; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neural stem cells; neuroplasticity; stem cell therapy.