Abstract—Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, accounting for 60%–80% of dementia cases. Its core pathological hallmarks include Aβ plaque deposition, hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, neuronal loss, and progressive cognitive decline. However, existing clinical medications only provide short-term symptomatic relief and are incapable of reversing neuronal damage or halting disease progression. In contrast, stem cell therapy exerts disease-modifying effects through multiple pathways, making it a promising strategy for AD treatment. This paper systematically reviews preclinical and clinical research advances in AD therapy using stem cell monotherapy, stem cells combined with drugs/growth factors, and stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (exosomes). It focuses on the mechanisms of dental mesenchymal stem cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia, and exosomes in reducing Aβ burden, inhibiting tau hyperphosphorylation, suppressing inflammation, promoting neural regeneration, and improving cognitive function. Studies demonstrate that stem cells and their derivatives exert meaningful therapeutic effects in animal models. Early clinical trials have confirmed their favorable safety profile, as well as their ability to delay brain atrophy, reduce neuroinflammation, and improve cognitive scores. However, several challenges remain. Further efforts are required to standardize therapeutic protocols, expand multi-center clinical trials, and conduct long-term safety monitoring to facilitate its clinical translation and application.
 
Keywords—Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), stem cell-based therapy, stem cell extracellular vesicles, exosomes

Cite: Peixuan Zhang, "Advances in Stem Cell-based Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease: Monotherapy, Combination Strategies and Stem Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles (Exosomes)," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 81-84, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).