Genes and environmental exposures in veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: The GENEVA study: Rationale, study design and demographic characteristics

Silke Schmidt, Kelli D. Allen, Valerie T. Loiacono, Barbara Norman, Catherine L. Stanwyck, Kristina M. Nord, Christina D. Williams, Edward J. Kasarskis, Freya Kamel, Valerie McGuire, Lorene M. Nelson, Eugene Z. Oddone, Richard S. Bedlack, Joel C. Morgenlander, Marvin P. Rozear, Arman Sabet, Laura Sams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent reports of a potentially increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for veterans deployed to the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War prompted the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a National Registry of Veterans with ALS, charged with the goal of enrolling all US veterans with a neurologist-confirmed diagnosis of ALS. The Genes and Environmental Exposures in Veterans with ALS study (GENEVA) is a case-control study presently enrolling cases from the Department of Veterans Affairs registry and a representative sample of veteran controls to evaluate the joint contributions of genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures to the risk of sporadic ALS. The GENEVA study design, recruitment strategies, methods of collecting DNA samples and environmental risk factor information are described here, along with a summary of demographic characteristics of the participants (537 cases, 292 controls) enrolled to date.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)191-204
Number of pages14
JournalNeuroepidemiology
Volume30
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2008

Keywords

  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, case-control study
  • GENEVA study recruitment methods
  • Gene-environment interaction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Clinical Neurology

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