Aging astrocytes lose ability to protect motor neurons, reveal Cedars-Sinai ALS researchers

Cedars-Sinai ALS research shows that aging astrocytes lose the ability to protect motor neurons, which control movement, but replacing old cells with younger ones engineered to restore an important protein may improve neuron survival Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, attacks muscle-controlling nerve cells motor neurons in the brain, brainstem and spinal cord, leading to progressive weakness and eventual paralysis of muscles throughout the body. Patients typically survive only three to five years after diagnosis.

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