REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Epilepsy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1596484
Rewiring the seizing brain: Stem cell grafts as neuromodulatory architects in epilepsy therapy
Provisionally accepted
- Department of Neurosurgery, Haikou Hospital Affiliated to Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Haikou, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
As an emerging therapeutic strategy, stem cell transplantation has demonstrated promising potential in the management of refractory epilepsy. Epilepsy, a prevalent neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, affects approximately one-third of patients worldwide who exhibit resistance to existing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Consequently, exploring novel treatment modalities is imperative. Recent studies have indicated that stem cell transplantation improves neurological function in epilepsy through multiple mechanisms. Research has revealed that transplanted stem cells mitigate seizure-induced neuronal damage by replacing dead or dysfunctional neurons, secreting beneficial neurotrophic factors (e.g., brainderived neurotrophic factor, BDNF), and releasing anti-inflammatory cytokines. Preclinical studies and early-phase clinical trials have shown that stem cell transplantation significantly reduces seizure frequency and enhances patients' quality of life. However, current research is limited by small sample sizes and short-term follow-ups, necessitating further validation of long-term efficacy. Despite its therapeutic promise, stem cell transplantation faces critical challenges. First, technical details such as the cell source, processing, method of transplantation, and timing have yet to be standardized, leading to potential variability in efficacy and safety across different stem cell types. Second, complications like immune rejection and tumorigenesis pose significant safety risks. Future research should focus on optimizing stem cell selection and processing, designing robust clinical trials to evaluate long-term safety and efficacy, exploring combinatorial approaches with existing therapies, and developing advanced biomaterials to enhance transplantation success. Additionally, monitoring post-transplant cell survival and functionality, along with identifying epilepsy-specific biomarkers, will be crucial to refining the precision and safety of stem cell-based therapies.
Keywords: Stem Cell Transplantation, refractory epilepsy, modulation of oxidative stress, inhibitory interneurons, clinical translation
Received: 19 Mar 2025; Accepted: 08 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Ma, Hu and Xia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ying Xia, Department of Neurosurgery, Haikou Hospital Affiliated to Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Haikou, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.