Cynthia Murphy has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and connected with an organization formed to advocate for medical research. At the end of March a group of people toured the Wasiman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and met with Gov. Jim Doyle to ask for more state funding for research. Cynthia didnâ??t go; itâ??s too difficult, she wrote to the governor, to see other people in other stages of the disease — the stages where she may go. Last December scientists at Waisman used modified stem cells to deliver a nerve growth factor directly to muscle cells in mice. An editorial in the scientific journal that published the results called it a major step because the growth factor did seem to work in animals not showing any symptoms, however it didnâ??t slow the progress of the disease.
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