Stem cell biology represents a strong foundation for neural repair. So far, gained experimental evidence suggests that this technology may be applicable to treat patients in the future. Since hESCs can be multiplied indefinitely and have the potential to give rise to a variety of functional human cells, it is conceivable to believe that stem cells will play an important role in disease modeling and drug testing. Moreover, since stem cells mimic aspects of normal development, these cells may be used to study early steps of human development that would not be accessible to experimentation otherwise.
We have highlighted current problems in the rapidly progressing stem cell field which involve safety issues, standardization of the protocols used, development of rigorous assays for characterization, and accumulation of experimental data in primate models of human disease. Realistic candidate diseases and patients that may benefit from stem cell therapy need to be defined before any clinical application. Since clinicians and stem cell biologists share a strong common interest to understand and treat human disease, stem cells have the true potential to transform modern medicine.