Other family members with als

[soonerwife]

I found out this morning that my PALS had a 2nd cousin who passed away from ALS on his mothers side.

Does it have to be certain family members that make ALS not sporadic?

 

[Nikki J]

The general defintion would not make this FALS and there is research that shows no increased risk with 3 Rd degree relatives and second cousins are more than 3rd - 4th I think. I would look closely at family history though and see if there are other relatives with neurodegenerative diseases especially early onset atypical dementia. I would not worry too much if there is a case of Alzheimers in an elderly relative though