Fig. 1.

Mechanistic pathways for menstrual blood stem cells. Intravenously injected menstrual blood cells migrate to the site of ischemic injury in the central nervous system, interacting with the inflammatory tissue and promoting repair. Immunomodulation and secretion of neurotrophic factors are the main mechanisms, improving neural survival and stimulating endogenous repair pathways, with the secondary support from angiogenesis. The contribution of cell differentiation to repair is still unclear and may depend on the tissue and type of injury. The endpoint would be functional improvement, therefore decreasing disability after stroke