Project A.L.S. Events

This text is replaced by the Flash movie.

Genetics

Who Gets it?
While approximately 5% of ALS cases are due to a mutation of the gene superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1), most ALS cases do not appear to run in families, and are known as sporadic. The presumption with sporadic ALS is that a constellation of normally occurring gene variants acts in concert with environmental triggers to cause the disease.

Whether considering cancer, heart disease, infection, or brain disease, a person's genetic make-up variously affects his or her susceptibility to disease, the course of the disease, and response to treatment. Until now, however, no one has identified the gene variants that may predispose to ALS.

This Illumina gene chip will allow a collaboration between Project A.L.S. and the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair (HCNR) to identify genes that predispose people to so-called sporadic ALS. First results of this analysis will be available on the world wide web in early 2007.

Harvard Medical School & Project A.L.S.
In partnership with the Harvard Medical School, Project A.L.S. has recently undertaken the first comprehensive analysis of the genetics of ALS susceptibility.

The Project A.L.S.-Harvard Medical School partnership is an unprecedented study that will analyze DNA from patients worldwide and guide the development of new treatments. Data generated from this project will be freely shared with the public via the Web.
Read: Harvard Medical School and Project A.L.S. Join Forces to Target ALS Research )

If technology has given us the tools to identify relevant genes, it has also given us new tools for manipulating them—for turning them on or off. Project A.L.S. supports investigations utilizing cutting-edge technologies including rapid DNA sequencing, gene therapy, and RNA interference, toward altering gene expression.