Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association (IMNDA), Irish Motor Neuron Disease Research Foundation (IMNDRF) and Health Research Board (HRB) funding. Orla Hardiman is an HRB Clinician Scientist. Her group has received unrestricted research grants from Merck Serono, Biogen Idec and Bayer Schering. She has received honoraria for providing expert advice to Merck Serono, Biogen Idec, Janssen Cilag, Allergan, Ono Pharmaceuticals and CytRx.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.