Researchers have uncovered how the body’s own immune system may be driving the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS — a breakthrough that could reshape treatment of the fatal disease.
In a study published Wednesday in Nature, scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Columbia University showed that immune cells in ALS patients attack a protein found in neurons, triggering inflammation that accelerates nerve cell loss. The protein, known as C9orf72, was the first identified target of such an autoimmune response in ALS.