Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. In ALS, motor neurons degenerate and die, resulting in the inability to control muscle movement. Patients with ALS may lose their ability to move, speak, eat, or breathe.
Misshapen, ubiquitinated proteins accumulate in degenerating motor neurons to cause ALS. Currently, research is being done to look at the SOD1, TDP-43, and FUS genes that are commonly mutated in ALS patients.