At present, with the advanced affordable genetic testing, the rate of discovering amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-related genes rapidly increases. These genetic findings provide new insights into therapies that target genetic subset of ALS. However, the research on the genetic and environmental causes of ALS is still in the early stage. In this chapter, we review the current understanding of ALS-related genes and summarize the worldwide ALS distribution feature by the frequency of occurrence in different regions. We summarize the advances in genetic testing and counseling for ALS. Based on the increase in genetic testing, we believe that the ALS patients and families would be benefited from our studies in the near future.
Part of the book: Novel Aspects on Motor Neuron Disease