NEWLY DISCOVERED GENETIC MUTATIONS MAY INCREASE RISK FOR LOU GEHRIG’S DISEASE
Research Highlight Featuring Lynn B. Jorde, PhD
A team of University of Utah Health researchers recently detected a set of genetic mutations that appear to increase a person’s risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Researchers say the discovery of mutations in the TP73 gene, a gene that has never been associated with ALS until now, could help scientists develop new therapies to slow or even stop the progression of the disease.
“It’s really a novel discovery that suggests a very different pathway for the onset of at least some cases of ALS that hasn’t been explored before,” saysLynn Jorde, PhD,chair of the Department of Human Geneticsat U of U Health and the senior author of the study. “From a scientific standpoint, it’s going to provide us with a more complete picture of what is going wrong in ALS and expand our understanding of what can be done to mitigate its devastating consequences.”
The study appears inNeurology,the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
