Study Adds to Evidence that Smoking Increases Risk for ALS

Smoking is associated with a greater risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a new study. The research, “Smoking and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Mendelian Randomization Study,” appeared in the journal Annals of Neurology. Cigarette smoking has been proposed as a risk…

Mutations in KIF5A Gene Linked to ALS in Large-Scale International Study

Newly identified mutations in the KIF5A gene were recently found to contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the result of a large-scale collaborative study involving more than 250 researchers from several of the world’s renowned ALS research labs. John Landers, PhD, professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical…

ALS Researchers Identify Gene Variants that Appear to Influence Patient Survival

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers analyzed the genotype data of thousands of ALS patients, with the objective of identifying gene variants that influence survival in ALS. The genome-wide association study identified two novel loci that significantly influence patient survival. These key findings help researchers better understand the biology of the disease…