Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Abstract

The term motor neuron disease refers to several diseases affecting the motor neurons and is sometimes used interchangeably to refer to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is the most common motor neuron disease. This chapter will focus on ALS. A complex combination of molecular pathways and cell interactions cause ALS. About 10% of ALS cases are genetic, although it has been hypothesized that as more genes are discovered to contribute to the disease, a larger percentage of cases will be quoted. This chapter discusses in detail the most common genetic forms of ALS and current research on targeted treatments.