Date: February 10, 2010
Summary:
In an official company news release, Stem Cells, Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of stem cell research, announced that human neural stem cells have been used to treat Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease ( PMD), a pediatric neurological disorder:
StemCells, Inc. announced today that its proprietary HuCNS-SC(R) human neural stem cells have been used to treat the first patient enrolled in its Phase I clinical trial in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a myelination disorder that afflicts male children. ...Myelin is the substance that surrounds and insulates nerve cells' communications fibers (also known as axons). Without sufficient myelination, these fibers are unable to properly transmit nerve impulses, leading to a progressive loss of neurological function. Multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis and certain types of cerebral palsy are more commonly known myelination disorders that also affect the central nervous system.
