Provided are methods for diagnosing sporadic and familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ('ALS') that detect conformers or conformer patterns of the copper-zinc superoxide dismutase-1 ('SOD-1') enzyme that are common to sporadic or familial ALS individuals but distinct from SOD-1 conformers of normal individuals. Methods of identifying candidate drugs that modulate SOD-1 conformer formation also are provided.
BIOMARKERS FOR AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS