CRISPR study reveals mitochondrial dysfunction as early marker in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Using the gene scissors CRISPR and stem cells, researchers at Stockholm University and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at King’s College London have managed to identify a common denominator for different gene mutations that all cause the neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The research shows that ALS-linked dysfunction occurs in the energy factories of nerve cells, the mitochondria, before the cells show other signs of disease, which was not previously known. The study was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.