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ALS: Recent Developments from Genetics Studies

  • Genetics (V Bonifati, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder that is characterized by a progressive degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons. Most cases appear to be sporadic, but 5–10 % of cases have a family history of the disease. High-throughput DNA sequencing and related genomic capture tools are methodological advances which have rapidly contributed to an acceleration in the discovery of genetic risk factors for both familial and sporadic ALS. It is interesting to note that as the number of ALS genes grows, many of the proteins they encode are in shared intracellular processes. This review will summarize some of the recent advances and gene discovery made in ALS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Martine Therrien

  2. Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Patrick A. Dion & Guy A. Rouleau

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  1. Martine Therrien
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  2. Patrick A. Dion
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  3. Guy A. Rouleau
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Correspondence to Guy A. Rouleau.

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Martine Therrien, Patrick A. Dion, and Guy A. Rouleau declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical collection on Genetics

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Therrien, M., Dion, P.A. & Rouleau, G.A. ALS: Recent Developments from Genetics Studies. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 16, 59 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-016-0658-1

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