A new study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell reports that human stem cells have been successfully used to repair neurological damage in mice. This important advance means that a type of neural stem cell called "glial progenitor cells" (GPCs) may be the key to treating neurological diseases in humans.

The research was carried out by scientists at the University of Rochester (U.R.) Medical Center and involved a single shot of glial progenitor cells. The researchers sought to evaluate the treatment's effectiveness in neurological problems linked to myelin deficiency such as autoimmune disorders like muscular dystrophy, ysosomal storage diseases like Tay-Sachs and congenital defects like Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease.

The mice showed improvement in symptoms and some of them survived for over a year, while those in the control group, which received no treatment, all died.

Late last month, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court voted in favor of research into embryonic cells in the country.  Japan, Australia, Canada and Spain are among other 25 countries that approved embryonic stem cell research.

In early May, California approved funding worth $271 million in total to create twelve stem cell research centers throughout the state. The money was raised following a 2004 voter initiative strongly supported by Schwarzenegger to issue bonds worth 3 billion to fund stem-cell research, mainly into human embryonic stem cells.

Through the initiative, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine will provide a steady stream of stem cell research funding to scientists in California over the next 10-12 years.