Gene That Causes Some Cases of Familial ALS Discovered

A team of researchers led by scientists from Johns Hopkins and the National Institute of Health has discovered a gene that appears to cause some cases of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  By using a method known as exome sequencing, they determined that the gene VCP is the cause for some  ALS cases.

This research is interesting because it could lead to new ways to treat the more common form of the disease, which kills a majority of Americans diagnosed with it each year.