Re: Is Lou Gehrig's Disease hereditary?

Hi Joy.
I am sorry about the death of your family member.  
ALS is a nasty disease.  As far as I know, the scientists still don't know 
the cause of it (or a good cure) but they have made serious progress.  
Genetics alone doesn't seem to explain every case.  I remember reading one 
article saying that a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General 
Hospital (MGH) ( http://www.mgh.harvard.edu ) had 
found evidence that a key 
programmed cell death gene MIGHT play a role in ALS.  But I've also read 
about a possible viral cause of the disease.  So scientists don't seem to 
know yet.

For those people who are reading this, and don't know what "Lou Gehrig's 
disease" is, read the information below.  The disease is identified with 
its most famous victim, the baseball star Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), who was a 
victim of ALS.  Around 4,600 people are diagnosed with the disease each 
year in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's 
disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve 
cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain 
to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the 
body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually 
lead to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain 
to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With all voluntary muscle 
action affected, patients in the later stages of the disease become totally 
paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their 
minds remain unaffected. 

A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no or negative. 
"Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment---"No muscle 
nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes 
away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where 
portions of the nerve cells that nourish the muscles are located. As this 
area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("sclerosis") in the 
region. 

As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle
fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often
include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs,
speech, swallowing and breathing. When muscles no longer receive the
messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles
begin to atrophy (waste away). Limbs begin to look "thinner" as muscle 
tissue atrophies.
 
Source: http://www.ALSA.org/als/whatis.cf
m
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According to a Johns Hopkins university website:

Although the cause of ALS remains unknown, current theories suggest that 
the neurotransmitter glutamate (a chemical that transmits signals between 
nerve cells) may play some role in the death of motor nerve cells. Other 
chemicals, such as free radical molecules and calcium, may also be 
involved. 

To find this article go to my seductive website (if you find science 
seductive...actually you'll be pleasantly surprised if you visit my site), 
and click on my link for "intelihealth".
Once there, search for ALS.
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This is my 4th answer in 2 days!
That's a record for me.
I am Arash E.
Cellular Biology and Genetics undergraduate
University of British Columbia
Vancouver
Canada