ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct.4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CUR) announced that Eva Feldman, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the Phase Itrial to test Neuralstem's human spinal cord stem cells, NSI-566, in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), will update trial data at the American Neurological Association annual meeting on Monday, October 8th (http://www.aneuroa.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3311). Dr. Feldman's poster presentation, "Completion and Outcomes of Phase I Intraspinal Stem Cell Transplantation Trial for ALS," will be up from 11:30-6:30. Dr. Feldman will be discussing the data between 5:30-6:30.

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Dr. Feldman is the President of the American Neurological Association, as well as Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute and Director of Research of the ALS Clinic at the University of Michigan Health System. Dr. Feldman is an unpaid consultant to Neuralstem.

About the Trial

The Phase I trial to assess the safety of Neuralstem's spinal cord neural stem cells and intraspinal transplantation method in ALS patients commenced in January 2010, and consisted of 18 treatments in 15 patients. The trial was designed to follow a risk escalation paradigm. The first 12 patients were each transplanted in the lumbar (lower back) region of the spine, beginning with non-ambulatory and advancing to ambulatory cohorts.

The trial then advanced to transplantation in the cervical (upper back) region of the spine. The first cohort of three was treated in the cervical region only. In an amendment to the trial design, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the return of previously-treated patients to this cohort. Consequently, the last cohort of three patients received injections in the cervical region in addition to the lumbar injections they had received earlier. All injections delivered 100,000 cells, for a dosing range of up to 1.5 million cells. The last patient was treated in August, 2012. The entire trial concludes six months after the final surgery.

About Neuralstem

Neuralstem's patented technology enables the ability to produce neural stem cells of the human brain and spinal cord in commercial quantities, and the ability to control the differentiation of these cells constitutively into mature, physiologically relevant human neurons and glia. Neuralstem has recently completed an FDA-approved Phase I safety clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, and has been awarded orphan status designation by the FDA.

In addition to ALS, the company is also targeting major central nervous system conditions with its NSI-566 cell therapy platform, including spinal cord injury, ischemic spastic paraplegia and chronic stroke. The company has submitted an IND (Investigational New Drug) application to the FDA for a Phase I safety trial in spinal cord injury.

Neuralstem also has the ability to generate stable human neural stem cell lines suitable for the systematic screening of large chemical libraries. Through this proprietary screening technology, Neuralstem has discovered and patented compounds that may stimulate the brain's capacity to generate new neurons, possibly reversing the pathologies of some central nervous system conditions. The company is in a Phase Ib safety trial evaluating NSI-189, its first neurogenic small molecule compound, for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD).Additional indications could include chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Alzheimer's disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Excerpt from:
Dr. Eva Feldman, Principal Investigator, To Update Interim Data On Neuralstem ALS Trial