Table of Contents
ALS usually strikes in late middle age or later in a person’s life, although there have been cases of ALS in young adults and even in children, as well as in the very elderly. Some genetic forms of ALS have their onset in youth as well. Men are slightly more likely to develop ALS than women are. Studies suggest an overall ratio of about 1.2 men to every woman.
Genetic factors are part of the picture in ALS, and the disease can run in families. For years, experts have tried to find the factors common to people who develop ALS. They were searching some environmental toxins, occupational hazards, places of work or residence, and so forth. So far, the evidence of such risk factors and triggers has been frustratingly unclear, although a recent finding of an association between developing ALS has indicated one of the strongest of these proposed risk factors.
Does ALS run in families?
ALS does indeed run in families, showing a family history about 10 percent of the time. Several genes associated with ALS are identified, or at least mapped to a specific region of a chromosome.
What happens to someone diagnosed with ALS?
In ALS, nerve cells that control the muscles are gradually lost. In most cases, the cause remains unknown. As these motor neurons are lost, the muscles they control weaken. As a logical consequence, they became nonfunctional after a while. Eventually, the person with ALS might be paralyzed. Death, usually from respiratory complications, typically comes between three and five years after the diagnosis, although the timing is not entirely clear. About 10% of people suffering from this disease live more than 10 years, and some survive for decades. Modern technology has allowed people with ALS to compensate for almost every loss of function to some degree, making it possible even for those with almost no muscle function to continue to breathe, communicate, move about and use a computer. Longevity statistics may be somewhat out of date because of the changes in supportive care and technology developed lately. It is important to note that ALS does not directly affect the involuntary muscles. The most important involuntary muscles are those that control the heartbeat, gastrointestinal tract. and bowel function, bladder and sexual functions. However, prolonged inability to move and other effects of ALS can have some indirect impact.
Pain is not a major component of the disorder, although moderate pain can certainly occur as a result of immobility and its various complications. Hearing, vision, touch and intellectual ability generally remain quite normal in patients diagnosed with ALS. Some experts believe that certain emotional changes may attributes directly to the disease process. However, in such devastating disorder as ALS, it can be difficult to distinguish feelings due to the underlying disorder from those that result from the person’s situation.