Chapter 7 **Cellular Transplantation-Based Therapeutic Strategies for Spinal Cord Injuries: Preclinical and Clinical Updates 123** Ishaq N. Khan, Wafaa S. Ramadan, Ghada A. Abdel-Hamid, Saleh Al Karim and Habiba Aurangzeb

Preface

nal cord injury.

It is my privilege to be the editor of the book *Essentials of Spinal Cord Injury Medicine.* This book is a sequel to our previous IntechOpen publication *Topics in Paraplegia* and includes seven new chapters about spinal cord injury starting from basic knowledge, functional anat‐ omy to medical complications, which limit rehabilitation potential and new research in spi‐

Spinal cord injury is a severe, often life-threatening traumatic condition leading to serious neurological dysfunctions. The first chapter presents the pathological hallmarks of spinal cord injury, which includes inflammation, reactive gliosis, axonal demyelination, neuronal death, and cyst formation. Understanding the pathophysiology of injury will improve our knowledge in neuroprotection and neuroregeneration leading to better rehabilitation prog‐ nosis. Important data on therapeutic strategies in preclinical and clinical phases, targeting mechanisms in acute and chronic stages of SCI, as well as their limitations and advances are presented in the second chapter. The third chapter describes the medical etiologies and treatments for spastic paraplegias due to nontraumatic spinal cord disorders. Because of ag‐ ing, epidemiological studies have found, mainly in developed countries, a shift in the causes of spinal cord injury from traumatic to nontraumatic, which may overtake traumatic in the next decade. The next chapter discusses penetrating spinal cord injury, which is a relatively rare entity affecting mainly young males, and in the fifth chapter, infectious complications

Finally, the last two chapters include new data about powered exoskeletons, which provide patients with SCI the ability to walk with lowest energy consumption, and last but not least, a chapter with preclinical and clinical updates of cellular transplantation that majorly in‐ volves cells' population derived from human embryonic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and human-induced pluripotent stem cells, the extent of success from cellular transplanta‐ tion, associated controversies, and other emerging technologies concludes the project. As clinicians, we are often facing the problem subjected to spinal cord injury to rely on us to provide information about new therapies or novel possibilities. I would like to thank all the authors who participated and IntechOpen, especially Ms. Kristina Kardum, for the kind co‐

**Yannis Dionyssiotis, MD, PhD, s.FEBPRM**

European Interbalkan Medical Center

Thessaloniki, Greece

Head of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department

after spinal cord injury and the preventive role of rehabilitation are analyzed.

operation in the development of the project.
