Dr. Eggan said in a statement that the studies are significant for another reason: they offer new ways of studying ALS.
"They provide a proof of concept," he said. "If you have embryonic stem cells that carry the genes for a disease -- in this case ALS -- you can make limitless quantities of the cells affected by the disease (and) study the disease process."
| The study by Dr. Przedborski and colleagues was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Department of Defense, the Muscular Dystrophy Association/Wings-over-Wall Street, the ALS Association, the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Fund, and Project A.L.S. he study by Dr. Eggan and colleagues was supported by Project A.L.S., the Stowers Medical Institute, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the National Institutes of Health. All the authors declared they had no competing financial interests. |
