The discovery of inclusions staining positive for unfolded SOD1 exclusively in the motor neurons and glia cells in autopsied sALS patients without a SOD1 mutation (analysed in DNA from blood leucocytes) suggest that an unfolded SOD1 protein may be playing a broader role in causing ALS.7–9 Hypothetically, de novo mutations could explain a proportion of sALS patients. Here, SOD1 is linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.