Of the 245 differentially expressed genes identified here, only eight upregulated genes (CASP4, CA4, CYSTM1, FPR1, MSRB1, RGL4, ST6GALNAC2, VNN1) and one downregulated gene (RPL7L1) were shown to be differentially expressed in both of the previously reported whole blood gene expression studies, including the RNA‐seq study of 6 sALS patients and 5 controls [4] and the largest whole blood sALS–control gene expression microarray study to date (397 ALS patients, 645 controls) [11]. This evidence concerns the gene CA4 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.