Sideline Support - ALS Fact Sheet

If you would like to learn more about ALS try visiting the ALS Association "A Reason for Hope" web site.

· There is no cure for ALS

· Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease

· In the U.S., ALS is known as Lou Gehrig's disease due to the fact that the famous baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the disease in 1941

· 50% of ALS patients die within 18 months after diagnosis

· Only 10% of ALS patients survive longer than 10 years

· 10% of ALS cases are hereditary

· The cause of ALS is unknown

· The incidence of ALS is about two per 100,000

· In the United States, approximately 30,000 are living with ALS

· There are about 5,000 new cases of ALS per year, or 15 per day

· The average age of ALS onset is 55

· ALS is a very expensive disease. Cost may run in excess of $250,000 a year

· British physicist Stephen Hawking has been living with ALS for more than 35 years. He is able to move only two fingers

· May is ALS Awareness month