Stories

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known in the UK as motor neurone disease, is a rare and progressive brain disorder in which neurons responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement (motor neurons) progressively deteriorate. Loss of affected neurons leads to muscle wasting, paralysis, and eventual death due to failure to breathe. Most patients are unable to survive past five years following a long diagnostic journey. Due to the complexity of the disease mechanism, the progression of the disease is highly variable, proceeding in affected individuals with different aggressiveness and velocity. There is no known cure for ALS and a robust diagnostic test for ALS is essential. For this, scientists are constantly in search of reliable biological markers of the disease.