ALS etiology - environmental factors?

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emdeekay

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Loved one DX
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Ontario
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Peterborough
My 86 year old Dad was diagnosed with ALS this week, late onset and slow progression. My step-sister, who had worked at his place of work (a chemical plant), said that she had heard of two other ex-employees of the plant (a small one) who had come down with ALS after leaving work/retiring. Our physician was interested in this possible environmental link, as Dad worked at a fatty-acid production plant.
My question...allowing for the small size of population and unconfirmed anecdotal nature of the report...and for the huge numbers of unknowns re: ALS....has anyone else heard of any clustering of ALS incidence around specific environmental factors?
 
Sorry about your dad. No matter what age it hits, it's hard.

This question has been asked and discussed many many times on this forum. I believe there are also scholarly papers written on the subject, which your doctor should be able to access.

Do an advanced search in key words and the pertinent threads will pop up.
 
@emdeekay:

I second what Elaine posted but, I would also add this: if you have the chance, try and open an account at ALS-TDI Forums.

They have several threads there with very scientific explanations about the causes of ALS/MND and they link to scientific papers/abstracts by experts of the field.


Regards,
 
the answer is yes cyanobacteria in water supplies, swimming areas, food chain. please look at institute for ethnomedicine.com several articles check one about lake in nh cluster 18 in 100,000
 
Thanks Elaine and Carlos....
 
Quick answer... suspected anecdotal relations.... check the NFL, the Italian national soccer team, heavy metals (aerospace, chemical) Do a search on this forum. You'll have plenty of reading material... and no answers.
 
The National ALS registry was instituted to help id possible clusters. The registry has surveys the PAL needs to fill out. Get all three of them to register if they have been diagnosed with ALS.
 
Add extreme stress...of whatever type
 
A couple of months ago I received a survey from Medical University of South Carolina that addressed many environmental factors. In talking to the research scientists I'm in contact with the current thinking unless your familial, is that there are contributing genes, environmental exposures, and epigenetic changes. I've always thought being Celtic was a high risk in addition to athleticism at a young age. But without the ALS Registry getting efficient and running well we may never know. But every pals should fill it out because it is the only shot we've got at causality.
 
read that this dreaded desease could be caused by any number of things,,,,,its just the end result thats the same........makes sense and why no cause has been discovered....useless infoe, i guess, but felt compelled to mention.......ill go keep my nose out now,,,,,johnny
 
Nelson, New Zealand. 5 cases in a matter of 5 years(?) Possible exposure to Methyl Bromide.
 
I agree with R9. It's extremely important for all PALS in the U.S. to self-enroll in the US ALS Registry at
CDC - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

And they have risk factor surveys and followup questions that could help in identifying clusters.

Thanks. God bless.
 
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