Source: Journal Transplantation via Ivahoe Newswire
Date: October 16, 2006
Summary:
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Johns Hopkins researchers believe they may have discovered a potential treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. While tests in humans are still a long way off, they have shown stem cell transplants can lead to the growth of healthy nerve cells in rats specially bred to have an aggressive form of the human disease.
Rats who received the neural stem cells -- which are thought to be able to transform into any type of cell in the nervous system -- began showing signs of the disease seven days later than rats who received dead stem cells for comparison purposes, and they also lived 11 days longer. The researchers emphasize the stem cells were only injected into the lower spines of the rats and not throughout the spinal cord, which may have resulted in significantly better outcomes.
Commentary: Maybe this finding will give researchers new insights into the causes of ALS, which might eventually enable them to develop effective treatments for the disease in humans.
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