Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Advancing Stem Cell Therapy For Repair Of Damaged Lung Microvasculature In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Svitlana Garbuzova-Davis, Robert Shell, Hilmi Mustafa, Surafuale Hailu, Alison E. Willing, Paul R. Sanberg, Cesar V. Borlongan

Neurosurgery and Brain Repair Faculty Publications

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease of motor neuron degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. Progressive paralysis of the diaphragm and other respiratory muscles leading to respiratory dysfunction and failure is the most common cause of death in ALS patients. Respiratory impairment has also been shown in animal models of ALS. Vascular pathology is another recently recognized hallmark of ALS pathogenesis. Central nervous system (CNS) capillary damage is a shared disease element in ALS rodent models and ALS patients. Microvascular impairment outside of the CNS, such as in the lungs, may occur in ALS, triggering lung damage …