ABSTRACT
Stroke is one of the most common causes of death in the United States, comprising approximately 750,000 cases per year in the US alone (Roger et al., 2012), and is one of the highest causes of death worldwide. In addition, those who suffer stroke, and survive do so at great cost to society, with direct costs estimated at $18.8 billion per year (Roger et al., 2012). This cost estimate does not include costs due to lost wages and future stroke-related disabilities. Despite the high prevalence of stroke, there remain only limited options for therapy in the clinic, none of which are effective for restoring lost neurological function. In addition, available treatments are only effective at the acute phase of stroke. The lack of effective treatments for such a pervasive disease have made novel approaches to stroke therapy a focus of both preclinical and clinical research in recent years. One of the most prominent approaches to stroke therapy that is emerging from this body of research is the use of exogenous stem cells as a therapy for ameliorating stroke defi cits and restoring neurological function.
