ALS Awareness

May is ALS Awareness Month. How much do you know about this rare disease?

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells within the brain and spinal cord.

Symptoms of ALS
The initial symptoms of ALS vary widely. It typically displays a gradual onset and could include difficulty in grasping an object or a change in vocal pitch when speaking. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing or in the extremities.

Other early symptoms may include tripping, dropping items, abnormal fatigue of the arms or legs, slurred speech, muscle cramps and twitches, and uncontrollable periods of laughing or crying.

Progressive muscle weakness and paralysis are universally experienced with ALS, but that progression also varies. The mean survival time for a person with ALS is three to five years, but many people do live for 10 or more years.

When the muscles which control breathing become affected, people with ALS require permanent ventilatory support to assist with breathing.

Because ALS attacks only motor neurons, the sense of sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell are not affected.

Who Gets ALS?
It’s estimated that there are 15 new cases a day in the US, and that as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease. Up to 60% of the people with ALS are men and 93% are Caucasian. Most people develop ALS between the ages of 40 and 70, with the average age of diagnosis being 55.

Little is known about the possible risk factors associated with ALS. Military veterans, especially those deployed during the Gulf War, are about twice as likely to develop ALS.