Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Balaenoptera acutorostrata scammoni (minke whale)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. In 90% of patients, ALS is sporadic, with no clear genetic linkage. On the other hand, the remaining 10% of cases show familial inheritance, with mutations in SOD1, TDP43(TARDBP), FUS, or C9orf72 genes being the most frequent causes. In spite of such difference, familial ALS and sporadic ALS have similarities in their pathological features. Proposed disease mechanisms contributing to motor neuron degeneration in ALS are: impaired proteostasis, aberrant RNA processing, mitochondrial disfunction and oxidative stress, microglia activation, and axonal dysfunction.