Unraveling the complex interplay between genes, environment, and climate in ALS

Abstract

Various genetic and environmental risk factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Despite this, the cause of most ALS cases remains obscure. In this review, we describe the current evidence implicating genetic and environmental factors in motor neuron degeneration. While the risk exerted by many environmental factors may appear small, their effect could be magnified by the presence of a genetic predisposition. We postulate that gene-environment interactions account for at least a portion of the unknown etiology in ALS. Climate underlies multiple environmental factors, some of which have been implied in ALS etiology, and the impact of global temperature increase on the gene-environment interactions should be carefully monitored. We describe the main concepts underlying such interactions. Although a lack of large cohorts with detailed genetic and environmental information hampers the search for gene-environment interactions, newer algorithms and machine learning approaches offer an opportunity to break this stalemate. Understanding how genetic and environmental factors interact to cause ALS may ultimately pave the way towards precision medicine becoming an integral part of ALS care.

Keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Cause; Climate; Environment; Epidemiology; Genetics; Interactions.

Figure 1

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is likely to be a complex disease arising from variable interactions between genetic factors and environmental factors. ALS in Guam refers to the geographical cluster of ALS cases on the island of Guam.