Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Therapy in Neurogenic Bladder Dysfunction: Current and Future Perspectives

Medicina, 2023 · DOI: 10.3390/medicina59081416 · Published: August 3, 2023

Urology Regenerative Medicine Biomedical

Simple Explanation

Tissue engineering (TE) is a biomedical field that could help treat neurogenic bladder dysfunction, overcoming the limitations of current treatments. Stem cell (SC) therapy and TE are still mostly in preclinical stages. More research is needed to prove they are safe and effective for humans. There are a few ways to approach SC and TE treatments, including using scaffolds, cells, gene therapy, 3D printing, and neural stem cell transplantation.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Not specified

Evidence Level

Review

Key Findings

1
ADSC sheet transplantation significantly improved voiding function recovery in rats after SCI and is therefore a promising cell delivery treatment option for NGB related to SCI.
2
The research found that the AC-SIS promoted in situ tissue regeneration by facilitating the repair of bladder epithelium, smooth muscle regeneration, and angiogenesis.
3
hUC-MSCs contributed to the reconstruction of bladder function after SCI and partially restored the motor function of SCI rats by ameliorating the destructive lesions.

Research Summary

Tissue engineering (TE) is a rapidly evolving biomedical discipline that can play an important role in treating neurogenic bladder dysfunction and compensating for current conventional options’ shortcomings. Although most preclinical studies provide promising results on the effectiveness of TE and stem cell therapies, the main limitations are mainly the very slow translation of preclinical trials to clinical trials, lack of quality research on neurogenic preconditions of neurogenic bladder dysfunction outside of the spinal cord injury and varying therapeutic methods of the existing research that lacks a standardized approach. Recent reviews on the clinical application of SC therapy also did not bring significant conclusive results, mainly due to a lack of a standardized approach.

Practical Implications

Clinical Translation

Accelerate the translation of promising preclinical results to human clinical trials.

Standardized Approaches

Develop standardized therapeutic methods to ensure consistent and reliable outcomes.

Targeted Research

Focus research on neurological causes of NBD beyond spinal cord injury, including MS, PD, and stroke.

Study Limitations

1
Very slow translation of preclinical trials to clinical trials
2
Lack of quality research on neurogenic preconditions of NGB outside of SCI
3
Varying therapeutic methods of the existing research that lack a standardized approach

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