phs000831
Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakening and eventual paralysis and death. Ten percent of ALS cases are thought to be familial while the majority of cases are sporadic and the causative factors unknown. Dr. Roger Pamphlett of the University of Sydney has collected a unique cohort of consented trios where the child has ALS but the parents are unaffected. Since the age of onset is so late, it is very difficult to obtain this kind of trio. We have performed whole exome sequencing on these trios to identify de novo and recessive germline variants associated with sporadic ALS. In addition, Dr. Pamphlett has assembled a collection of consented discordant monozygotic twins, where one twin has ALS and the other is unaffected. We performed whole genome sequencing on these twin pairs to identify postzygotic variants that may contribute to sporadic ALS susceptibility... (for more see dbGaP study page.)