CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2005--A new approach that silences a specific gene linked to disease is giving hope for human treatment in preclinical testing for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Two different research teams report encouraging results in a mouse model that mimics several aspects of the human disease.
"These studies are extremely exciting," commented Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., science director and vice president of The ALS Association (ALSA), "and provide a promising approach to treat familial forms of ALS linked to mutations in SOD1. As we learn more about the other genes involved in the disease a similar approach can be taken for those forms of ALS not linked to the SOD1 mutation."
