Scientists are racing to find out what causes this progressive disease. And they're starting to make some headway.
The disease occurs more commonly in men and the average age of diagnosis is about 60 years old, though it can also affect people who are significantly younger. While most people live only a few years after the diagnosis, there are notable exceptions, including the physicist Stephen Hawking who was diagnosed with aThe reasons why people develop ALS are complicated. For 10-15% of people with the condition, it.
For the other 85% of people who develop ALS, identifying the cause is even less straightforward. When no-one says"your great uncle had something like that" after someone gets a diagnosis for ALS, then it is considered to be a random, one off, event and is called a"sporadic" case. Recent research has suggested that genetic mutations might be part of the story.
"We suspected the presence of what we term the ALS 'exposome', which is the sum of toxic environmental exposures that increase risk," says Feldman. The team have found that prolonged exposure to organic chemical pollutants, metals, pesticides, particulate matter in dust from construction work and poor air quality could contribute to
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