DNA Differences Add Risk: Altered genes show up in Lou Gehrig’s disease
By Nathan Seppa
Scientists’ best efforts have failed to vanquish amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). There was no cure for the nerve-degenerating disease when it struck down baseball star Lou Gehrig 64 years ago, and there is none today. In fact, scientists have yet to pinpoint a cause of the disease except in individuals with certain rare genetic mutations.
In the August Nature Genetics, researchers report on other, more common genetic variations that crop up in ALS patients more often than they do in healthy people. Experiments show that similar genetic variations leave mice vulnerable to the sort of nerve degeneration seen in ALS patients, says Peter Carmeliet of Leuven University in Belgium.