Single Gene Implicated in FTD/ALS

Researchers have recently found a single gene cause for two neurodegenerative conditions that are distinct but related, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) andamyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

In an online issue of the scientific journalNeuron, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, in collaboration with the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and others, report that the newly discovered genetic abnormality is responsible for a significant proportion of families with both FTD and ALS (FTD/ALS) and many families where the dominant syndrome is either familial FTD or familial ALS. Less commonly, it is associated with sporadic FTD or sporadic ALS, meaning occurrences of FTD or ALS without a family history.