Title |
Environmental insults: critical triggers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
|
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Published in |
Translational Neurodegeneration, June 2017
|
DOI | 10.1186/s40035-017-0087-3 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Bing Yu, Roger Pamphlett |
Abstract |
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterised by a rapid loss of lower and upper motor neurons. As a complex disease, the ageing process and complicated gene-environment interactions are involved in the majority of cases. Significant advances have been made in unravelling the genetic susceptibility to ALS with massively parallel sequencing technologies, while environmental insults remain a suspected but largely unexplored source of risk. Several studies applying the strategy of Mendelian randomisation have strengthened the link between environmental insults and ALS, but none so far has proved conclusive. We propose a new ALS model which links the current knowledge of genetic factors, ageing and environmental insults. This model provides a mechanism as to how ALS is initiated, with environmental insults playing a critical role. The available evidence has suggested that inherited defect(s) could cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which would establish the primary susceptibility to ALS. Further study of the underlying mechanism may shed light on ALS pathogenesis. Environmental insults are a critical trigger for ALS, particularly in the aged individuals with other toxicant susceptible genes. The identification of ALS triggers could lead to preventive strategies for those individuals at risk. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 75 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 16 | 21% |
Student > Bachelor | 11 | 15% |
Student > Master | 10 | 13% |
Researcher | 6 | 8% |
Other | 5 | 7% |
Other | 6 | 8% |
Unknown | 21 | 28% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Neuroscience | 12 | 16% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 10 | 13% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 7 | 9% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 7 | 9% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 4 | 5% |
Other | 10 | 13% |
Unknown | 25 | 33% |