US EditionNew Evidence: ALS Is Autoimmune Disease
Researchers identified two ALS patient groups with differing immune responses linked to survival times, suggesting new pathways for treatment targeting autoimmune inflammation.
- On October 1, 2025, scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Columbia University Irving Medical Center reported evidence that ALS may be an autoimmune disease, publishing the findings in Nature.
- Researchers found inflammatory CD4+ T cells mistakenly target nervous‑system proteins, including the neuron-expressed C9orf72 protein, in an autoimmune 'self‑attack', La Jolla Institute for Immunology researchers said.
- Using samples from 40 ALS patients and 28 people without the disease, researchers found two patient groups; those whose inflammatory CD4+ T cells recognized C9orf72 had shorter predicted survival.
- LJI Research Technician Tanner Michaelis said future therapies might boost protective CD4+ T cell responses and dial back harmful inflammation, though study authors caution larger follow‑up studies are needed.
- The study joins other neuroimmunology breakthroughs linking immune involvement to Parkinson's disease, and Alessandro Sette said monitoring or boosting anti-inflammatory responses might improve ALS outcomes.
17 Articles
17 Articles
New evidence: ALS is autoimmune disease
Medical Watch Digest for Oct 1 New evidence: ALS is autoimmune disease After years of research, finally a potential answer as to what causes ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a deadly neuromuscular disease with no known cure. The muscles degrade leaving patients unable to walk, speak or breathe. About half of patients die within two years of being diagnosed. Now researchers at La Jolla Institute for immunology say they have evidence ALS is a…
San Diego Union Tribune
New study builds evidence of immune system’s role in ALS
A new study by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, working with colleagues at Columbia University in New York, documents how the immune system functions differently in patients with amytrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, skewing the balance of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory chemicals in the brain. These findings, researchers say, suggest a possible new direction for the treatment of a deadly condi…
Eldiario.es
elDiarioARResearchers show for the first time how inflammatory T cells mistakenly attack certain proteins of the nervous system in people with ALS and trigger cell death that causes the disease
ALS appears to be an autoimmune disease as immune cells attack nervous system proteins
Around 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) each year. About half of patients die within 14 to 18 months of being diagnosed, usually due to breathing failure. The exact cause of ALS has long been unknown.
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