ALS

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rapidly progressive fatal neurodegenerative disease. ALS can strike anyone, male or female, at any age and of any ethnic origin. While onset is often in middle age, some teens have been diagnosed with the disease.

People living with ALS become progressively paralyzed due to degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Eighty per cent of people with ALS die within two to five years of diagnosis while 10 per cent may live for 10 years or longer.

ALS has no known cure or effective treatment. For every person diagnosed with ALS, a person living with ALS dies. Currently, approximately 2,500 – 3,000 Canadians live with this fatal disease.

For more information on ALS, please visit the ALS Society of Canada, your Provincial Society or Compassionate Care ALS.