Commentary on review by gash et al. A clinical perspective on neural transplantation and potential applications to the aged brain

The recent advances in the transplantation of CNS tissues to mammalian brain are potentially of great clinical significance, especially as treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. A number of issues must be resolved however, before the full clinical potential of CNS transplants can be evaluated. From the clinical perspective, it will be essential for future studies to compare the relative efficacy of transplant "therapy" to more conventional treatment strategies. It will also be important to discover the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying transplant-induced restoration of function.