This is promising because it means that stem cells may slow ALS even if they don't become motor neurons. They are also completing safety tests on monkeys, which the FDA requires before human trials. The heads of all nine labs involved in the stem-cell project meet with Valerie and Meredith in New York every few months to strategize. The hope is to develop a therapy that shows early promise and then entice a biotech firm to take over. Private funds may become more important, as President Bush may limit or end federal funding for fetal stem-cell research.
Big hurdles remain.
The researchers must figure out where to inject the cells, how to coax them into forming motor neurons and how to stop the immune system from killing them. Still, everyone agrees the sisters have energized the field. The scientists are motivated by Jenifer's decline. Evan Snyder sometimes stays up late imagining what he would do if he could implant her with stem cells tomorrow. Jenifer leaves her Manhattan apartment only occasionally, since going anywhere has become a major production requiring several people to move her.