Proteins mark ALS

From Washington, D.C., at the Experimental Biology 2004 meeting

Today, physicians diagnose people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease—by process of elimination. In a series of exams that can last a year, a doctor must rule out other neurological diseases with similar symptoms, such as muscle weakness or slurred speech. A University of Pittsburgh pathologist now reports finding a perturbed pattern of proteins—some elevated, others abnormally low—in the cerebrospinal fluid of ALS patients.