The National Institutes of Health awarded a team of UW-Madison researchers a $7.2 million grant Thursday to study the use of stem cell therapy to treat Lou Gehrig's disease.
According to a University Communications release, an estimated 30,000 people in the United States suffer from the incurable disease, scientifically known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
The grant will be awarded over five years, with the goal of finding new therapies to treat the withering of brain cells that control the body's muscles, which causes the typically fatal condition.
This is a great opportunity,"" Clive Svendsen, director of the project, said in a statement.
Svendsen will work with UW-Madison neuroscientists Su-Chan Zhang and Gordon S. Mitchell.
""There is a lot of synergy between our groups which provide for a lot of overlap that we think will help us get at some of the key issues of ALS.
