Having ALS at a young age ?

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Mike955720

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Dose anyone know how many people under the age of 25 get ALS a year in the United States ? or of the percent of people who get ALS a year , What percent would be under the age of 25 ?
 
Mike,

You didn't have to start a new thread. Try to keep your questions in one, cuz it's easier for folks here to follow.

Young people having ALS are rare.

What did the ENT tell you today?
 
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As Ottawa Girl wisely pointed out, it's extremely rare for young folks to develop ALS.

The odds of getting hit directly by an asteroid in your lifetime are way greater than being affected by ALS at young age (or even at old age).

Regards,

NH
 
Here are some quick facts I found searching the net. Hope this helps. There is more info at neurology24.com


•It is estimated that ALS is responsible for nearly two deaths per hundred thousand population annually.
•Approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. The incidence of ALS is two per 100,000 people, and it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may have the disease at any given time
•A tiny fraction, 0.03 %, of those diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease are younger than 38 or older than 92 at the time of diagnosis.
•About 5 % will be younger than 47 or older than 83 at the time of diagnosis.
 
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The ENT didn't find anything not normal . He told me to go to go to a neurologist . For the past four days my left side of my face ( check , jaw , around eyes , lips , roof of mouth, forehead ) have been getting stiff . The same is happening to the left side of my neck . I have a neurologist on Monday .
 
I am not disputing that you do not have a problem. You asked about the percentage of those in their 20s with als. I agree you need to see a neuro, but it is more than likely something else. I hope you find out soon, keep us posted.
 
...The odds of getting hit directly by an asteroid in your lifetime are way greater than being affected by ALS at young age (or even at old age)...
I've known two people who contracted ALS in their 20s and another who was 18 when diagnosed. Don't know anyone who has been struck by an asteroid.
 
John were those people FALs or SALS?
The youngest people I know were FALS
Just wondering
 
Nikki,

One I know was a SALS, another I think was a SALS and I don't know about the third. I see there is a new member on the forum now (daisygrl) writing about her 27 year old son with ALS. She doesn't mention any family history.
 
I've known two people who contracted ALS in their 20s and another who was 18 when diagnosed. Don't know anyone who has been struck by an asteroid.


I was speaking figuratively about the asteroid but, it indeed has happened in recent times.
Ever heard of Sylacauga meteorite in 1954 in Oak Grove, Alabama (USA)? Its fragments hit somebody. The person hit by this piece of asteroid did not die from ALS.

So, ALS is extremely rare but even so, affects around 30,000 people in the USA alone and 5,600 people are diagnosed here each year with this disease.

Didn't want to go slightly off-topic but you asked.

Regards,

NH
 
I don't care how rare ALS is, once it hits you or your loved one, you feel like you were hit by a asteroid
 
...So, ALS is extremely rare but even so, affects around 30,000 people in the USA alone and 5,600 people are diagnosed here each year with this disease...
I wouldn't describe ALS as "extremely rare". If you do the math (see below), approximately 1 person in 450 will die from ALS. A common misconception is that ALS is rare and MS fairly common. In fact roughly the same numbers of people contract each disease. I don't think many people would describe MS as being extremely rare. The difference between the two diseases is the rapidity which ALS moves compared to MS. At any given time there are far more people living with MS than with ALS.

For those numerically inclined, I determined the death rate from ALS as follows.

Number of people contracting ALS annually: 5600 (from ALS Association).
Number of people dying from ALS annually: 5600 (assuming everyone who contracts ALS will die from it. Some of course are hit by buses first but for the most part this is a reasonable assumption).
Number of people in the US who die annually from all causes: 2,468,435 (2010 Division of Vital Statistics).
Death rate from ALS therefore is 5600/2468435 = 0.0022686. Or expressed differently, 1 per 449 deaths is from ALS
 
The vast majority of websites keep claiming that 10% of ALS is familial, and the risk factors for the other 90% are unknown.

The majority of Neurologists say that there are NO known risk factors that lead to develop ALS and there are no ways to prevent it therefore, everything that points to the contrary must be "bogus".

But, I still have my doubts that ALS is just a disease that randomly attacks anyone with no known risk factors or methods of prevention, being some of the affected ones as young as 18.

I hope one day, they (researchers) find the real cause because, without knowing the cause, the less likely will be for them to come up with a solution (a cure).



NH
 
i was diagnosed when i was 29. (sals)
 
its entirely moot to discuss the odds of getting ALS at a young age (if not familial) as the cause of sporadic ALS is unknown. although it is statistically unfavorable at a young age. The risk factors are unknown.
 
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