This is very very bad news for military vets. U.S. veterans carry a nearly 60 percent greater risk of contracting ALS than civilians, according to a white paper published in 2013 by the ALS Association, citing Harvard University research that tracked ex-service members back to 1910. That alarming disparity has prompted the Pentagon to devote $7.5 million annually to hunt for ALS causes and treatments. The investment includes a $2.5 million grant made April 1 to the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute in Los Angeles to test a promising therapy in lab animals and, perhaps later, in humans with the disease. “When you think about the military, you have intense training, and we all wonder: Is it something to do with extreme exercise and a genetic vulnerability?” says Clive Svendsen, head of the Cedars institute. He’s been working for a decade to crack the ALS enigma. His theory: For veterans born with a rare genetic flaw that predisposes them to ALS, the military’s harsh physical demands perhaps trigger the disease to erupt years later.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Apr 2014 14:35:42 +0000
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