In an ALS Association-funded study conducted in Finland, researchers found that a major cause of familial ALS was located on chromosome 9p21.  Finland is a well suited location for a genome-wide association (GWA) study of ALS because the incidence of the ALS is one of the highest in the world, and the genetic background of the Finnish population is relatively homogenous.  Previous GWA studies have failed to identify a single location that is significant and can be replicated in other studies probably because of the heterogeneity of the disease.

“Although GWA study has been a disappointing approach to find new genes linked to sporadic ALS, it is encouraging to see the approach used successfully in a more homogeneous population,” said ALS Association Chief Scientist Dr. Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D.

In the study published in Lancet Neurology, 853 DNA samples were collected from 442 people with ALS and 521 control individuals.  Control samples were from a population-based study of elderly Finnish individuals.  People known to carry the SOD1 gene were included in the final analysis as positive controls to assess whether this genome-wide association study was able to detect an association signal.

Read the full story