21 février, 2007 17:41
Scientists close in on genes linked to Lou Gehrig's disease
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 | 1:51 PM ET
The search for a cause of Lou Gehrig's disease could be focused on 34 suspected mutations, researchers say.
About 95 per cent of cases of Lou Gehrig's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are not inherited, occurring in families without a history of the disease.
"Although we haven't located the exact gene responsible for sporadic ALS, our results seriously narrow the search and bring us that much closer to finding what we need to start developing treatments for the disease," said the study's lead author, Dr. Bryan Traynor, of the department of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.
Traynor and his colleagues found 34 tiny mutations called "single nucleotide polymorphisms" or SNPs containing genes suspected of predisposing people to the non-inherited form of the fatal neurodegenerative disease that leads to muscle wasting.
The researchers looked at the entire genome of 276 adults with sporadic ALS and 271 adults with no history of neurological disease. Their study appears in this month's online issue of the journal Lancet Neurology.
Using gene finder chips, the researchers identified 34 possible gene changes that may be linked to the sporadic form of the disease. Scientists identified genes responsible for the inherited form in the 1990s.
The 34 SNPs were more likely in people with the disease than in normal individuals, but there is no guarantee that the mutations will lead to genes linked to ALS, Traynor cautioned.
"The next step is to go back and figure out which of these 'hits' are real and which are false."
ALS affects about 3,000 Canadians.
The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in the U.S., the Packard Center for ALS Research
