Dear Al,
I certainly don’t mind about your questions: that is why I am here for!
Please excuse my English: as you probably notice, it is not my mother tongue.
Less then 10% of ALS cases are familial. The other 90% are sporadic cases that do not show heredity. The researchers think that many people who develop the SLA could have a predisposition to the disease which, while entering in interaction with other factors, like environmental factors, could start the disease. Important variety of genetic changes could be at the origin of the SLA.
It is more probable to think that, since you are the only affected person of your family, the form of SLA of which you are affected is of sporadic nature. This does not exclude the possibility of a transmission from this suspected predisposition.
Even if knowledge in genetics advances much, they are still fragmentary. We do not understand yet how the genetic and environmental mechanisms interact.
I hope that answers your question. For more explanations, do not hesitate to ask me more questions.
I will send the material necessary to your participation in research today, should thus receive it next week.
Again, thank you for your interest and your time,
Isabelle Thibault
Coordonnatrice de projets de recherche
Centre d'étude des maladies du cerveau
Centre de recherche du CHUM - Hôpital Notre-Dame
Pavillon Simard, local Z-8911
1560 rue Sherbrooke Est
Montréal (QC) H2L 4M1
Téléphone: (514) 890-8000 #24857
Télécopieur: (514) 412-7602
courriel:
[email protected]
Hello bana. Welcome to our forum. Above is a copy of an email I got from a researcher on genetics and ALS. My question to her was as the first person in my family with ALS what are the chances that I was the first of the familial type and would I pass it on to my children. According to what I read i would think your chances are good of not getting it.
Hope this will ease your mind. For the benefit of readers you may contact Isabelle to take part in this important study. All that is required is 4 vials of blood and a questionnaire. Her email address is above. Al.