The unmet need for therapies capable of repairing the central nervous system 
(CNS) damage occurring in many diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS) has 
sparked the interest of the neurological community for stem cell-based 
therapies. An exhaustive amount of preclinical data has shown that the 
intravenous administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), a subset of 
progenitor cells isolated from many mesodermal tissues, effectively ameliorates 
experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of MS, through the 
release of anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective molecules. Based on these 
results, several small pilot clinical trials in subjects with advanced MS have 
demonstrated that MSC administration is safe and provided an early signal of 
clinical effectiveness. The current aim of clinicians and scientists interested 
in the development of MSC-based strategies for the treatment of MS is to have 
the ultimate demonstration in large clinical trials that MSC can inhibit CNS 
inflammation and foster tissue repair as realized clinically, with functional 
recovery, or visualized by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).