Not Medical Advice: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
Based on U.S. population studies, a little over 6,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. Most people who develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age of 55 at the time of diagnosis.
However, cases of the disease do occur in persons in their twenties and thirties. Generally though, ALS occurs in greater percentages as men and women grow older.
Half of all people affected with ALS live at least three or more years after diagnosis. Twenty percent live five years or more; up to ten percent will live more than ten years.
Just recently, Dwight Clark, a former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, said that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Take deeper look at ALS, with background information at Mercurynews.com.