A previous study showed that VEGF retrograde delivery with lentiviral vector could prolong the survival of ALS model mice by 30% (Azzouz et al., 2004) and that activated AKT signaling, which is downstream of VEGF, is important for cell survival in ALS (Lunn et al., 2009). This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.