Stem cells and the ALS neurologist

Stem cells have captured the imagination of people with ALS. The potential promise of neuronal replacement and regeneration, as well as replacement and regeneration of other neural tissues, through stem cell therapies, has become a source of great hope and expectation. While just more than a decade has passed since the discovery of human stem cells, the field has made substantial advances in the use of stem cells as tools for understanding the process of motor neuron degeneration. Although the therapeutic role of stems cells in ALS and other neurodegenerations remains to be established, recent experimental data provide grounds for considered optimism.