The subventricular zone (SVZ) of the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus are the only regions of the adult brain that are widely recognized to contain neural progenitor cells - precursors capable of producing both neurons and glia. However, recent evidence suggests that such cells may exist also outside SVZ and SGZ, in the parenchyma of neocortex and striatum. This opens new possibilities for progenitor cell manipulation in situ with consequent development of novel progenitor-based strategies for the treatment of human neurological disease.
Biomedical Reviews 2003; 14: 121-125.