This timely volume explores various techniques for tissue and organ regeneration using stem cells isolated from adult tissues. It discusses alternative explanations of stem cell plasticity as well as current clinical results with adult stem cell therapies. It examines the presence of potential pluripotent stem cells in adult tissues, paracrine effects of stem cell therapies, and involvement of exosomes and microparticles into observed phenomena. Fifteen chapters, all written by noted leaders of their fields, focus on a variety of topics including cord blood and hematopoietic stem cells, skin and tissue organ regeneration, very small embryonic-like stem cells, and cell therapies in cardiology, neonatology, and neurology. Edited by Dr. Mariusz Ratajczak, an internationally known specialist in adult stem cell biology,Adult Stem Cell Therapies: Alternatives to Plasticity is an important addition to theStem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series.

Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sci.d.h.cis the Henry M. and Stella M. Hoenig Endowed Chair in Cancer Biology and the Director of the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Louisville's James Graham Brown Cancer Center, Louisville, USA. Dr. Ratajczak earned his M.D. at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland, and his D.Sci. and Ph.D. in hematopoietic transplantation at the Center for Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Warsaw, Poland. He completed fellowships at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. Dr. Ratajczak  is an internationally known specialist in the field of adult stem cell biology. He is section editor ofLeukemia andJournal of Blood Cancer, and he is a member of the editorial board forJournal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine,Stem Cells,and Stem Cells and Reports. He also has published numerous books and more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and is a frequent speaker at conferences worldwide.

1 Regenerative Medicine and the Search for Pluripotent/Multipotent Stem Cells.- 2 Novel Therapeutic Approaches in Regenerative Medicine: Adult Tissue-Derived Very Small Embryonic like Stem Cells and Harnessing Paracrine Signals of Adult Stem Cells.- 3 Cord Blood Stem Cells.- 4 Human CD34-negative Hematopoietic Stem Cells.- 5 Cell Therapies in Cardiology.- 6 Mechanisms Regulating Trafficking of Stem Cells in Ischemic Heart Disease.- 7 Stem Cell Therapies in Neurology.- 8 Stem Cell Compartment in Acute Psychotic Syndromes.- 9 Skin Regeneration and Circulating Stem Cells.- 10 Stem Cell Therapies in Neonatology.- 11 Pluripotent Very Small Embryonic-like Stem Cells in Adult Mammalian Gonads.- 12 Molecular Signature of Very Small Embryonic Like Stem Cells.- 13 Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Tissue/Organ Regeneration.- 14 Extracellular Vesicles and Tissue Organ Regeneration.- 15 Stem Cells in Infection and Sepsis.