Astrocytes, as key support cells in the central nervous system, maintain homeostasis in the brain through mechanisms such as ionic homeostasis regulation, metabolic support, synaptic modulation, and neuroinflammatory regulation. Recent studies have shown that astrocyte dysfunction is closely related to the pathologic processes of various neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the dual roles of astrocytes in neurological diseases: on one hand, their aberrant activation can exacerbate disease progression by mediating neuroinflammation, synaptic dysfunction, and blood–brain barrier disruption; on the other hand, their metabolic disorders, such as lipid droplet accumulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress imbalance, further drive neurodegeneration. In terms of therapeutic strategies, interventions targeting astrocytes, such as modulation of activation phenotype, metabolic reprogramming, gene therapy, and innovative therapies based on exosomes and nanotechnology, show great promise. In the future, we may integrate multi‐omics technologies and deepen clinical translational research to systematically analyze the spatial heterogeneity of astrocytes and their dynamic regulatory networks at different stages of the disease, in order to elucidate the precise mechanisms of their roles in the pathological process, and thus provide multidimensional theoretical support for the design of targeted therapeutic strategies.

Currently, adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (ADMSCs) are recognized as a highly promising material for stem cell therapy due to their accessibility and safety. Given the frequently irreversible damage to neural cells associated with CNS disorders, ADMSC-related therapy, which primarily encompasses ADMSC transplantation and injection with exosomes derived from ADMSCs or secretome, has the capability to inhibit inflammatory response and neuronal apoptosis, promote neural regeneration, as well as modulate immune responses, holding potential as a comprehensive approach to treat CNS disorders and improve prognosis. Empirical evidence from both experiments and clinical trials convincingly demonstrates the satisfactory safety and efficacy of ADMSC-related therapies. This review provides a systematic summary of the role of ADMSCs in the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders and explores their therapeutic potential for clinical application. ADMSC-related therapy offers a promising avenue to mitigate damage and enhance neurological function in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, further research is necessary to establish the safety and efficacy of clinical ADMSC-based therapy, optimize targeting accuracy, and refine delivery approaches for practical applications.

As an important method to accurately and timely diagnose stroke and study physiological characteristics and pathological mechanism in it, imaging technology has gone through more than a century of iteration. The interaction of cells densely packed in the brain is three-dimensional (3D), but the flat images brought by traditional visualization methods show only a few cells and ignore connections outside the slices. The increased resolution allows for a more microscopic and underlying view. Today's intuitive 3D imagings of micron or even nanometer scale are showing its essentiality in stroke. In recent years, 3D imaging technology has gained rapid development. With the overhaul of imaging mediums and the innovation of imaging mode, the resolution has been significantly improved, endowing researchers with the capability of holistic observation of a large volume, real-time monitoring of tiny voxels, and quantitative measurement of spatial parameters. In this review, we will summarize the current methods of high-resolution 3D imaging applied in stroke.