How can neuroimaging help diagnose ALS?

Individuals with mutations in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene develop brain white matter abnormalities before the onset of symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a new imaging study that was presented here at the AAN Annual Meeting in April. Surprisingly, the changes are in a non-motor area of the brain, leaving researchers to wonder whether they signify a previously unsuspected site of disease onset, or a change with no necessary pathogenic relation to the future neurodegenerative process expected in these individuals.