Repairing the Nervous System with Stem Cells Diseases of the
nervous system, including congenital disorders, cancers, and
degenerative diseases, affect millions of people of all ages.
Congenital disorders occur when the brain or spinal cord does
not form correctly during development. Cancers of the nervous
system result from the uncontrolled spread of aberrant cells.
Degenerative diseases occur when the nervous system loses
functioning of nerve cells. Most of the advances in stem cell
research have been directed at treating degenerative diseases.
While many treatments aim to limit the damage of these diseases,
in some cases scientists believe that damage can be reversed by
replacing lost cells with new ones derived from cells that can
mature into nerve cells, called neural stem cells. Research that
uses stem cells to treat nervous system disorders remains an
area of great promise and challenge to demonstrate that cell-
replacement therapy can restore lost function. Strategies to
Repair the Nervous System The n