About ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. People living with the disease 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– unable to breathe or swallow. Ten per cent of those affected may live for 10 years or longer. 

Other neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease. According to the World Health Organization, neurodegenerative diseases are predicted to surpass cancer as the second leading cause of death in Canada by 2040.
 
ALS has no known cure or effective treatment yet. For every person diagnosed with ALS, a person living with ALS dies. Approximately 2,500 - 3,000 Canadians currently live with this fatal disease. 

The above information is found at als.ca  maintained by the ALS Society of Canada. We encourage you to visit the site to learn more about ALS and to support ALS research.