GDNF and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: This treatment also improves lumbar motor neuron survival, possibly via upregulation of glial-derived neurotrophic factor and basic fibroblast growth factor.146 Thus, intravenous administration of hUCB cells or MSCs can improve symptomology and be neuroprotective in ALS animal models, encouraging future clinical applications of intravenous stem cell injection.