Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (als) biomarkers and uses thereof

A method for determining the efficacy of a selected treatment for ALS in a subject comprising:

• a) isolating a sample from the subject before the selected treatment;
• b) detecting the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 in the sample;
• c) treating the subject with the selected treatment;
• d) isolating a sample from the subject after the selected treatment;
• e) detecting the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 in the sample of step d);
• f) comparing the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 detected in step b) and e), a decrease in the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 detected in step e) indicating that the selected treatment is effective for treating ALS in the subject.

A method for determining the progression of ALS in a subject comprising:

• a) isolating a first sample from the subject with ALS;
• b) detecting the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 in the sample;
• c) isolating a second sample from the subject at a later time point;
• d) detecting the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 in the sample of step d);
• e) comparing the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 detected in step b) and d), an increase in the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 detected in step d) indicating that ALS has progressed in the subject;
• a decrease in the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 detected in step d) indicating that ALS has improved in the subject;
• and no difference between the level of SMAD1, SMAD2, SMAD5, SMAD8, TGFβ1, TGFβ2, TGFβ3 and/or BMP4 detected in step b) and d) indicating that ALS has not progressed in the subject.