The contribution of cerebral organoids to the understanding and treatment of rare genetic diseases with neurodevelopmental disorders

Rare genetic diseases with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) encompass several heterogeneous conditions (autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning disorder (SLD), among others). Currently, few treatments are available for these patients. The difficulty in accessing human brain samples and the discrepancies between human and animal models highlight the need for new research approaches. One promising approach is the use of the cerebral organoids. These 3D, self-organized structures, generated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), enable the reproduction of the stages of human brain development, from the proliferation of neural stem cells to their differentiation into neurons, oligodentrocytes, and astrocytes. Cerebral organoids hold great promise in understanding brain development and in the search for treatments.