[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and animal models]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which affects cortical, bulbar and spinal motoneurones. The cause of the disease, probably due to several factors, is still unknown and the survival delay of patients with ALS generally does not exceed 3-5 years. Animals models provide a unique opportunity to study pathological features and to evaluate potential therapeutic effects of news treatments. Natural disease models, neurotoxins or viral-induced models and more recently transgenic models with genetic anomalies mimicking those found in ALS patients have been extensively studied. This review summarizes the most relevant clinical and pathological advances issuing from these animal studies.