Since EPO can cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB) (Brines et al., 2000), peripheral administration of EPO has been investigated as a potential neuroprotective treatment in neurological disease models for stroke (Zhang et al., 2006), multiple sclerosis (MS) (Cervellini et al., 2013), and ALS (Grunfeld et al., 2007). This evidence concerns the gene EPO and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.