We have previously characterised the function of SVAs to modulate gene expression profiles by in vitro and in vivo models including an SVA upstream of the FUS RNA binding protein (FUS) gene in which genetic mutations have been linked to many diseases including ALS (Savage et al., 2014) and an SVA upstream of the Parkinsonism associated deglycase DJ-1 gene, also termed PARK7, a gene associated with PD (Savage et al., 2013). Here, FUS is linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.