An eminent group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come to the fore with a new discovery that it is no longer a distant dream but a possible reality regarding the rescue of the gradually fading neurons, trait of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neuromuscular disorder also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is to be noted in this respect that the original intention of the study has been related with the demonstration of the pledge of cell-based therapies for diseases that have proved obdurate to modern medicine. In this manner the new approach experimented on the rat models has exhibited that the stem cells arranged for the secretion of a major growth factor has the requisite potential for the protection of the motor neurons that become emaciated as a result of ALS.

While going through the discourses it has also been averred that at the same time as the motor neurons within the spinal cord are protected by the growth factor, there had been no such inspection on the subject of their ability in the maintenance of connections with the muscles they do control. But even after so much advancement in the realm of medical science it has to be accepted that the cause behind the origin of the disease of ALS happens to be unknown. Till this date there is no such effective treatment of this disease of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis casting a deadly effect on 40,000 people in the United States, and happens to be fatal all the time and within a stipulated time of three to five years of diagnosis. But what are the immediate symptoms? The patients in general experience advanced muscle weakness and paralysis by leaps and bounds, the main reason being the motor neurons that control the muscles get destroyed by the disease.    

But in the new study nascent brain cells which are known as neural progenitor cells and derived from human fetal tissue were engineered for the secretion of a chemical known as glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a known agent for the protection of neurons but that is very difficult to deliver to specific regions of the brain. The engineered cells were then implanted in the spinal cords of rats afflicted with a form of ALS. After the process of implantation the very cells were perceived to survive beautifully and exhibited a close resemblance for the areas of the spinal cord where motor neurons were dying.

Speaking on the notable achievement Clive Svendsen, a neuroscientist who, with colleague Masatoshi Suzuki, led the study at UW-Madison's Waisman Center said, "We think the cells are safe, and they do increase the survival of the motor neurons." "This may be very important for patients that lose neurons every day. However, it's not a trivial intervention. You have to drill a hole in the spinal cord to get the cells releasing GDNF in. But there are few options for these patients and we will continue to move forward with this approach."