An ancient virus, known as human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K,) that spliced itself into haman genes may play a role in Lou Gehric's Disease according to a new study. Study leader, Avindra Nath was originally treating an HIV patient with antiretoviral drugs when he noticed that the man's Lou Gehrig's symptoms also improved. After doing some research, Nath discovered that people reported seeing reverse transcriptase in the blood, which is a hallmark of retroviruses due to the fact they can use it to insert copies of their genes into their host's.
