You never know when you write something if people are going to read it. Sometimes you wonder if anyone is going to read it. So, it’s always fun, and educational, to look back at the end of the year and see which pieces got the most eyeballs.

It isn’t always the ones you think will draw the biggest audiences. Sometimes it is diseases that are considered “rare” (those affecting fewer than 200,000 people) that get the most attention.

Maybe it’s because those diseases have such a powerful online community which shares news, any news, about their condition of interest with everyone they know. Whatever the reason, we are always delighted to share encouraging news about research we are funding or encouraging research that someone else is funding.

That was certainly the case with the top two stories this year. Both were related to ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.  It’s a particularly nasty condition. People diagnosed with ALS have a life expectancy of just 2 to 5 years. So it’s probably not a big surprise that stories suggesting stem cells could expand that life span got a big reception.

Whatever the reason, we’re just happy to share hopeful news with everyone who comes to our blog.

And so, without further ado, here is the list of the most popular Stem Cellar Blog Posts for 2018.

• New stem cell treatment for ALS may slow disease progression
• Can stem cell therapies help ALS patients
• Stem cell study holds out promise for kidney disease
• Your guide to awesome stem cell conferences in 2018
• Young man with spinal cord injury regains use of hands and arms after stem cell therapy
• jCyte shares encouraging news update about clinical trial for Retinitis Pigmentosa
• Stem cell patch restores vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration
• The 10 most popular stem cell stories of 2017 (is that cheating to include a story about the most popular stories of 2017 in a blog about the most popular blogs of 2018?)
• Could stem cells help beat multiple sclerosis
• One-time lasting treatment for Sickle Cell Disease may be on the horizon according to new CIRM-funded study

All of us in the Communications team at CIRM consider it an honor and privilege to be able to work here and to meet many of the people behind these stories; the researchers and the patients and patient advocates. They are an extraordinary group of individuals who help remind us why we do this work and why it is important. We love our work and we hope you enjoy it too. We plan to be every bit as active and engaged in 2019.