Manual workers face twice the risk of developing ALS newswise.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newswise.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit: Source: Mark Zammit Cordina, Times of Malta
ALS is a progressive neurological disease that attacks the nerves that interact with the body s muscles. The disease typically leads to complete paralysis of the body, robbing patients of their ability to walk, speak, eat and breathe.
Researchers studied ALS patients and healthy elderly volunteers living in Malta who took part in an ongoing study aiming at identifying genetic and environmental risk factors. Malta is a sovereign microstate in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and is home to a geographically and culturally isolated population. Recently, Maltese ALS patients were found to have a unique genetic makeup compared to their European counterparts.
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IMAGE: Maltese out on a Sunday, on one of the busiest streets in Valletta, Malta s capital city view more
Credit: Source: Jonathan Borg, Times of Malta
Malta, a sovereign microstate in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, has no shortage of sunny beaches, honey-bricked villages and rugged countryside. Beyond its Mediterranean charm, Malta is home to a geographically and culturally isolated population whose unique genetic makeup, makes this island nation a goldmine for genetics research.
Four years ago, the University of Malta set up a national ALS Registry and Biobank to identify patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and collect data on their residence, occupation, lifestyle and environmental exposures. Blood samples donated by participants will remain stored in high-tech storage facilities at the University over many years.