Brave attempt: Neurosurgeons at Emory University deliver a
second dose of neural cells into the spinal cord of an ALS
patient. This week, surgeons at Emory University in Atlanta
implanted a second dose of neural cells into a patient’s spinal
cord, part of an experimental treatment aimed at slowing the
progression of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The patient, Ted
Harada, is the third person this summer to receive a second dose
as part of the trial. The cells are produced by a Rockville,
Maryland-based company called Neuralstem that isolates stem
cells from the brain and spinal cord of aborted fetuses. The
company is also targeting other major central nervous system
conditions with its cell therapy platform, including spinal cord
injury, ischemic spastic paraplegia, chronic stroke, and brain
cancer. ALS gradually destroys the connections between the
spinal cord and motor neurons, eventually robbing patients of
all ability to move. The hope is that the cells injected into
the spinal cord will provide support, pe