Following on from World Alzheimer’s Day yesterday scientists have discovered that there is a genetic link between dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, sometimes referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Researchers from several centres in the US have found that mutations in a little-known gene is the cause of both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also known as Pick’s disease. Neither disease is curable although drug therapies are in place to try to improve the quality of life in sufferers.
ALS is a disease affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord which leads to the inability to move one’s muscles, eventually resulting in difficulties breathing when the chest muscles stop working. Pick’s disease, on the other hand, does not affect the body physically but mentally. It is also the result of nerve damage but affects the area of the brain responsible for language, behaviour and emotions.
It is, as yet, unclear as to why some people with the gene mutation develop ALS whilst others develop FTD but this is an important stepping-stone in understanding the causes behind these diseases.