{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,26]],"date-time":"2026-10-26T02:19:18Z","timestamp":1792981158561,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781827200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Stem cell therapy is a promising regenerative strategy for spinal cord injury (SCI), but its clinical development remains heterogeneous. This study analyzed the global landscape of registered interventional trials to characterize current translational progress. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of interventional clinical trials of stem cell therapy for SCI using the Informa Trialtrove database. Records available through December 31, 2025 were screened. Observational studies, duplicate registrations, and studies not directly evaluating stem cell-based treatment for SCI were excluded. Data on trial year, country, phase, status, sponsor, cell type, and primary endpoints were extracted. Eighty interventional trials were included. Trial activity increased overall from 2008 onward, with continued study initiation in 2024 and 2025. China contributed the largest number of trials (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f20), followed by the United States (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f13), Spain (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f10), Japan (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f10), and India (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f7). Most studies were early- or mid-phase, whereas phase III or later trials were rare. Completed studies accounted for 57.5%, and terminated studies for 10.0%. Academic institutions were the leading sponsors. Mesenchymal stem cells were the predominant platform, while neural lineage and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived products were emerging. Clinical development of stem cell therapy for SCI remains concentrated in early-stage trials and will require stronger efficacy evidence, endpoint harmonization, product standardization, and improved patient stratification.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1839981","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T04:29:24Z","timestamp":1781843364000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Global landscape of registered clinical trials of stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Yuanrun","family":"Wei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haixin","family":"Wei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenhua","family":"Gong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuexiao","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University","place":["Qingdao, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17018","DOI":"10.1038\/nrdp.2017.18","article-title":"Traumatic spinal cord injury","volume":"3","author":"Ahuja","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat Rev Dis Primers"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms21113994","article-title":"Clinical trials of stem cell treatment for spinal cord injury","volume":"21","author":"Yamazaki","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Mol Sci"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6862","DOI":"10.1097\/js9.0000000000001948","article-title":"Evolving trends in stem cell therapy: an emerging and promising approach against various diseases","volume":"110","author":"Abusalah","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int J Surg"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6182","DOI":"10.1097\/js9.0000000000001074","article-title":"Advancements and mechanisms of stem cell-based therapies for spinal cord injury in animals","volume":"110","author":"Mili","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int J 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Netw Open"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"812","DOI":"10.3171\/2022.5.Spine22167","article-title":"A phase 1\/2a dose-escalation study of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in individuals with subacute cervical spinal cord injury","volume":"37","author":"Fessler","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Neurosurg Spine"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"321","DOI":"10.3171\/2021.12.spine21622","article-title":"Ten-year safety of pluripotent stem cell transplantation in acute thoracic spinal cord injury","volume":"37","author":"McKenna","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Neurosurg Spine"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"766","DOI":"10.1093\/brain\/awad392","article-title":"Neural stem cell therapies for spinal cord injury repair: an update on recent preclinical and clinical advances","volume":"147","author":"Hosseini","year":"2024","journal-title":"Brain"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1093\/stcltm\/szaf073","article-title":"Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem\/progenitor cell therapy for spinal cord injury: preclinical advances and translational perspectives","volume":"15","author":"Ogaki","year":"2026","journal-title":"Stem Cells Transl Med"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in 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