A variety of cellular insults may intersect, leading individually or in concert to neuron degeneration, neuron death and finally ALS. A faculty gene (1) and excess glutamate (2) may lead to damaging free radicals (3), which can harm the nerve cell's DNA. Glutamate also may lead to the production of detrimental calcium, which can churn out its own supply of DNA-harming free radicals. The free radicals also may injure neurofilaments (4), proteins that serve as the skeleton of the cell. In addition, the immune system (5) may be involved in harming neurons. Abnormalities can lead to an accumulation of the toxic calcium.
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