Clinical trials using adult stem cells continue for those who have ALS Disease.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neuro-degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
20,000-30,000 people in the United States have ALS, and an estimated 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year. ALS is one of the most common neuromuscular diseases worldwide, and people of all races and ethnic backgrounds are affected. ALS is 60% more common in men than women, primarily affecting those males between the ages of 35 and 65.
Patients who took part in the first clinical trial will receive a second implantation to the cervical, or upper, region of the spine – where the nerves that control breathing reside. Most ALS patients die of respiratory failure as these nerves die or are damaged by the disease.
“We believe that the cells and the route of administration are safe,” says Feldman, who is the principal investigator of the trial and the director of the U-M’s A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, U.S.A. “The FDA go-ahead to bring these patients back for re-dosing is a further validation of that.” The trial is funded by Neuralstem, to which Dr. Feldman is an unpaid consultant.
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