干细胞治疗自闭症研究进展

自闭症是一类异质性神经发育障碍，其特征是广泛的认知、情感和神经行为异常、社交和沟通障碍、兴趣受限、重复和刻板的言语和非言语行为。世界范围内每1 000名儿童12例自闭症患者，尽管其发病率不断上升，但目前仍无法治愈。细胞疗法可通过促进组织损伤修复、合成并分泌抗炎细胞因子和抑制凋亡细胞因子、迁移并定植如神经系统替换损伤细胞等机制在自闭症治疗过程中发挥积极作用，其中干细胞的旁分泌机制对自闭症的调节作用最受关注。

Stem cell therapy in autism spectrum disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by a wide range of cognitive, emotional, and neurobehavioral abnormalities, social interaction and communication dysfunctions, restricted interests, and repetitive and stereotypic verbal and nonverbal behaviors.Presently, the worldwide incidence is 12 per 1000 children. Despite its increasing rate, currently autism remains untreatable.Stem cells could exert a positive effect in ASDs through the following mechanisms:stimulation of repair in the damaged tissue, synthesizing and releasing anti-inflammatory cytokines and survival-promoting growth factors; integrating into existing neural and synaptic network, and restoring plasticity. The paracrine mechanisms of MSCs show interesting potential in ASD treatment.