To those with ALS, what do you think was the cause?

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Just A Guy

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CALS
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IL
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Chicago
I don't know why, but developed nations have higher rates of neurological diseases. The same goes for cancer. Do you think that the chemicals (pesticides, hormones, antibiotics) that are used to produce our food are affecting our health (no doubt they are). Now in Europe, there is a slightly lower rate than in the USA / Canada. Could this possible be due to a relatively recent ban on many pesticides and the like? Do you think there are any environmental factors / toxins that maybe caused it. Please feel free to say as much as you want, I want to listen to everything you have to say. Include whatever you like.

There are tons of credible sources that show the higher rates of diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons, Cancer are highest in the USA / Canada. Basically I am trying to get at the fact that these are mostly non-hereditary and not caused by an invader of some sort (like virus, bacteria, fungus, other parasites, maybe even prions?) In addition, allergies and asthma and other such conditions not caused blatantly by an invader are significantly less common (nearly unheard of) in most of the developing world.

Here is one thing I would like to note. We are so much more reliant on chemical in the USA (we put fluorine in our water and a bunch of other stuff). We use tons of chemicals to kill weeds and make our lawns look green and amazing. But, what if these are leeching into the water lines underneath (they easily could). Just trying to show that there are harmful chemicals even where we don't realize.

Here are some considerations as to the cause of ALS: previous infections (virus, bacterial, fungus), vaccines, environmental toxins, medications, head injuries, other injuries, your work environment, general environment, etc...

Thank you in advance for taking you time to reply. I hope for the best for everyone and their families. It takes a lot of courage to be in this position.

God bless you guys.
 
Please search threads... These discussions have taken place here many times, including in the recent past. There are many other websites which may assist you with your research and various neurological journals which you can also locate online.

For myself, the question of why I have it is dwarfed by the question of how I plan on living with it.
 
no , as it is in other countries also , but i think it may be auto-amuine , some from all of the above but we really do not know
 
Sadly, the cause of ALS and some of the other neurological diseases you mentioned is not yet known. If we knew the cause, we would likely be a lot further along in a treatment or cure for these diseases. Hopefully science will get there very soon.

There are many threads on this forum where someone has asked the same question. You can view the archives to read what others have said, but it's all just conjecture, since nothing has been established scientifically. It seems likely to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors, from what I've read.
 
My doctor feels my mito was from environmental toxins bec ause there is no family history. Other than that I couldn't begin to guess what toxin or combination it is, like you said, we have been bombarded since birth. Who is to say....
 
no , as it is in other countries also , but i think it may be auto-amuine , some from all of the above but we really do not know

That goes for ALS, but not so for the others.
 
Possibly stress and lack of vitamin D

Mohan 1
 
Genetic/familial for me........
 
I beleive that one of the reasons there is higher rate in developed countries like the US is better access to healthcare and better education--not that ALS does not occur but that it is reported more often.
 
ALS also largely affects older people. With all else equal, countries with longer life expectancies (ie - developed ones) will probably have higher rates of ALS.

I agree that "modern" chemicals and other aspects of life in developed countries probably contribute to ALS. But, to play devils advocate, ALS rates in the developed world might not be due to better chances at proper diagnosis, life expectancy, or even be directly related to anything "modern":
Without being familiar with any particular studies into global ALS population demographics, I'm wondering if the prevalence in developed countries might possibly be explained by other factors those countries have in common. Specifically, the overall demographics of developed countries is very different from demographics of developing countries. There could be many undiscovered genetic factors that explain why the developed world has higher incidence of ALS. Does ALS occur equally through all US and Canada subpopulations? If americans of european decent are more likely to get ALS than other americans, then its possible that its coincidental that developed countries have higher ALS rates, and that it has nothing to do with chemicals, or aspects of life particular to developed nations.
 
Please remember to register at the CDC if you are a PALS in the US.
Log in and take the surveys. Hopefully this will provide researchers with some good data.
 
Your Garden of Eden hypothesis is flawed. Paradise has been lost. And not just on Pandora. The Third World is a cesspool of toxic waste, human and animal excrement, and heart breaking ignorance.

You can see the following on the banks of the Nile, the Nairobi, the Ganges, the Chao Phraya, the Siem Reap, the Sao Francisco, the Madeira, the Purus...

People bathing, urinating, defecating, drawing water for drinking and cooking;
raw sewage runoffs, garbage of every type -- household, medical, industrial.

I am grateful to live among and with epidemiologists, waste water treatment plants, and environmental regulations.
 
ALS also largely affects older people. With all else equal, countries with longer life expectancies (ie - developed ones) will probably have higher rates of ALS.

I agree that "modern" chemicals and other aspects of life in developed countries probably contribute to ALS. But, to play devils advocate, ALS rates in the developed world might not be due to better chances at proper diagnosis, life expectancy, or even be directly related to anything "modern":
Without being familiar with any particular studies into global ALS population demographics, I'm wondering if the prevalence in developed countries might possibly be explained by other factors those countries have in common. Specifically, the overall demographics of developed countries is very different from demographics of developing countries. There could be many undiscovered genetic factors that explain why the developed world has higher incidence of ALS. Does ALS occur equally through all US and Canada subpopulations? If americans of european decent are more likely to get ALS than other americans, then its possible that its coincidental that developed countries have higher ALS rates, and that it has nothing to do with chemicals, or aspects of life particular to developed nations.

It's true that the demographic is different in developed countries. But ALS has no such links to it. Something like breast cancer / testicular cancer are found in higher rates among caucasian males / females. However studies found that asians and other ethnic groups that immigrated to America had equal rates of breast cancer when compared to their counterparts back home. And Japan is a very developed country so I think in this case, a lack of diagnosis is not the cause. So it narrows it down a bit to the chemicals we use.
 
I do not mean to be rude but I'm not entirely sure why you are gathering testimonials. What we "think" does no meet the rigors of scientific scrutiny so I cannot see how it informs the discussion of causes of ALS.
 
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