Australian scientists working with professors from King's College in London have discovered a new therapeutic target for Lou Gehrig's disease, also known an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Researchers found a mutation in a gene responsible for the crippling and gradual paralysis suffered by ALS patients.

The results, published in the Feb. 28 online issue of Science, provide "a link between genetics and [the] pathology that proves that the pathology is important for the disease," said Virginia Lee, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Scientists at the ANZAC Research Institute At Sydney's Concord Hospital found out suggest that the accumulation of protein produced by TDP-43, a gene involved in RNA processing, is toxic.

The damage cells repair themselves and cause protein build-up. Researcher have found out that the protein build up cause the damage.

The disease got its name after legendary baseball layer Lou Gehrig, whose career was cut short by the disease.

An estimated 30,000 Americans suffer ALS.