Study holds promise for ALS treatments The enzyme Gemin3 was identified as the molecular 'bridge' between genes whose mutation or disruption causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a new study in Nature's Scientific Reports from scientists at the University of Malta.
ALS robs patients of their ability to walk, eat or breathe. The late-onset neurodegenerative disease destroys motor neurons, the long nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that tell the muscles what to do. Signals from these nerves gradually stop reaching the muscles, which weaken and die. There is no cure for ALS, and, eventually, the disease is fatal. Genetics contributes significantly to the development of ALS. Mutations in any of an ever-increasing list of genes have been identified to cause ALS with TDP-43, FUS and SOD1 featuring at the top considering that together they are responsible for a large percentage of ALS cases with a family history.
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