We are collecting blood samples, clinical and family information from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) patients and their families to identify causes of ALS and ALS/dementia.

Population

Open to all ALS patients and selected family members

Brief Title

Genetics of Familial and Sporadic ALS

Official Title

Identification of Genes Causing Familial ALS or Increasing Risk for Sporadic ALS and ALS With Frontotemporal Dementia and Understanding Disease Mechanism.

Brief Summary

We are collecting blood samples, clinical and family information from ALS (amyotrophic <br /> lateral sclerosis) patients and their families to identify causes of ALS and ALS/dementia.

Detailed Description

The investigators' long term goals are to improve diagnosis and develop effective treatments
that arrest or ameliorate symptoms of ALS, and possibly delay or prevent disease onset in
individuals at risk for developing familial ALS (FALS). In order to do this one must
understand how disease develops at a molecular level. Identification of genes that increase
risk for developing all types of ALS will reveal the pathways of molecular events that are
involved in ALS.

The investigators are collecting blood samples, family and medical histories of patients with
all types of ALS, (familial and sporadic, with and without frontotemporal dementia, and
primary lateral sclerosis and particular family members. Samples are coded to maintain
confidentiality. Travel is not necessary.

As well as seeking to identify new genes implicated in ALS, the investigators continue our
study of families with known genetic mutations to more fully characterize that disease
mechanism.

Linkage analysis and affected relative pair analysis will be used to identify causative FALS
genes and disequilibrium analysis and association studies are being done for sporadic ALS.

Results from these studies will provide insight into the underlying disease mechanisms of ALS
and provide targets for therapeutic interventions.

Outcome Measures

Outcome measures are the tests that investigators perform to prove whether or not a treatment being tested in a clinical trial is having any effect.