StemCells Inc. (Nasdaq: STEM) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of cell-based therapeutics to treat diseases of the central nervous system and liver. Though controversial to many people, cell-based discoveries are important in medical and scientific advances.

The company’s HuCNS-SC product candidate (purified human neutral stem cells) is undergoing clinical trials to treat retinal and spinal cord damage and will soon be showcased to neuroscientists around the globe. StemCells today announced it will present the results of its retinal degeneration and spinal cord injury research program at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting later this month in Washington, D.C.

As the world’s largest organization centered on advances in understanding the brain and nervous system, The Society for Neuroscience has established this annual meeting to allow neuroscientists all around the world to present, observe and discuss scientific breakthroughs, technology and advances.
StemCells has established an ongoing research collaboration with Raymond Lund, Ph.D., professor of ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute for Oregon Health & Science University, for preclinical research in retinal degeneration.

According to the press release, Dr. Lund will present findings that the transplant of HuCNS-SC cells have the ability to prevent loss of vision and demonstrate long-term engraftment in the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat. The company also has established a spinal cord injury-related collaborative research relationship with Aileen Anderson, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Three researchers from Dr. Anderson’s lab will present at the neuroscience meeting as well, demonstrating data showing how HuCNS-SC cells survive immunosuppression and spinal cord injury. Two more researchers from the doctor’s lab will give poster presentations regarding the motor recovery of animals transplanted with HuCNS-SC cells, as well as HuCNS-SC’s affect on spinal cord injury.

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