Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Families Project
Columbia University
Summary
This program provides family members of individuals with familial ALS the opportunity to contribute to research focused on learning more about why motor neuron degeneration begins and how or why it progresses. This study provides genetic counseling and testing to help participants understand and manage their risk and determine if they want to learn their genetic status. This study will follow unaffected ALS gene mutation carriers on an annual basis to gather essential information that will ultimately help researchers develop novel therapies for the prevention and treatment of ALS.
Description
Approximately 10% of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease, have a family history of ALS or a related condition called frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In most of these familial cases, and a significant number of "sporadic" patients with no family history, a mutation is present in one of a growing number of genes that have been associated with ALS and/or FTD. The ALS Families Project will study unaffected carriers of ALS/FTD-associated gene mutations to investigate the first steps in the disease process that leads to motor neuron degeneration, with the goal of…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–105 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Men or women of any race or ethnicity aged 18 or older * No symptoms of ALS or fronto-temporal dementia at enrollment * Scenario 1: has already had genetic testing that identified an ALS-spectrum gene mutation. * Scenario 2: has a first degree relative who was/is an obligate carrier of a familial ALS-spectrum gene mutation. * Scenario 3: has a first degree relative who has/had an ALS-spectrum diagnosis who had a confirmed ALS-spectrum gene mutation or comes from a family with a high burden of ALS-spectrum diagnoses and a known ALS-spectrum gene mutation. * Scenario 4: is…
Location
- Columbia UniversityNew York, New York