Therapeutic effect of stem cells in chronic temporal lobe epilepsy: A systematic review of animal studies / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Stem cell therapy has emerged as a novel treatment for chronic temporal lobe epilepsy that has been widely used in various animal models of epilepsy. However, there is yet no consensus in the therapeutic effect in existing experimental studies. OBJECTIVE: To systemically evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of stem cell therapy in animal models of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy, providing experimental evidence and new ideas for further clinical trials. METHODS: A systematic search of CNKI, WanFang, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science was performed for animal studies related to stem cell therapy for chronic temporal lobe epilepsy published from inception to May 2018. Two reviewers independently extracted data, assessed methodological quality and evaluated evidence quality by using CERQual tool. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Eight animal studies were eligible for inclusion, including 284 animals suffering chronic temporal lobe epilepsy. Between-study heterogeneity was substantial, so a qualitative description was performed. Stem cell therapy has some improvement in the seizure frequency and duration of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy in animals, which can promote the recovery from epilepsy in most animals. Other outcomes include memory and learning, stem cell migration, differentiation and integration. The exact efficacy of stem cells cannot be determined due to the lack of rigor, characterization, and evidence quality. We therefore do not have absolute confidence to recommend the clinical use of stem cell therapy for chronic temporal lobe epilepsy. Thus, it is necessary to conduct high-quality preclinical studies to further evaluate the efficacy of stem cell transplantation for chronic temporal lobe epilepsy and its clinical conversion risk before implementation of clinical trials.