ALS QUICK FACTS FACT SHEET | AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS SOCIETY OF | SOCIÉTÉ CANADIENNE DE LA SCLÉROSE LATÉRALE AMYOTROPHIQUE

ALS IS AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS • Approximately 2,500 - 3,000 Canadians over NINE PROVINCIAL SOCIETIES a : absence 18 currently live with ALS myo : muscle ALS Society of Alberta (and NWT) trophic : nourishment ALS CAN STRIKE ANYONE 250 - 4723 - 1st Street SW, Calgary, AB T2G 4Y8 lateral : side (referring to the spine) • The incidence rate (number of new diagnoses) 403 228 3857 www.alsab.ca sclerosis : hardening or scarring of ALS is estimated to be 2/100,000 people per year ALS Society of British Columbia The word “lateral” identifies the area where • Less than 10 per cent of cases of ALS are (and Yukon) nerve cells in the spinal cord that nourish the hereditary 1233 - 13351 Commerce Parkway, Richmond, BC V6V 2X7 muscles are located. As nerve cells die, the • ALS can strike both men and women 1 800 708 3228 www.alsbc.ca muscles receive no nourishment and waste • ALS affects all ethnic and socio-economic away. Sclerosis occurs as the area affected groups ALS Society of Manitoba deteriorates. • ALS can strike young or very elderly adults 2A-1717 Dublin Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3H 0H2 but is most commonly diagnosed in middle 204 831 1510 www.alsmb.ca ALS MAY ALSO BE CALLED … and late adulthood • ’s disease ALS Society of Newfoundland & Labrador • MND (Motor Neuron Disease) ALS AFFECTS THE WHOLE FAMILY P.O. Box 844, Corner Brook, NL A2H 6H6 • SLA (Sclérose latérale amyotrophique) • People with ALS require costly equipment 1 888 364 9499 www.envision.ca/webs/alsnl • Maladie de Charcot and care • Eighty per cent of the burden of care is ALS Society of New Brunswick & ALS IS A RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE shouldered by family members Nova Scotia NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASE • ALS is a drain on the physical, emotional, and 900 Windmill Road, Suite 113, Darmouth, NS B3B 1P7 • Motor nerve cells die financial resources of caregivers 902 454 3636 www.alsns.ca • Voluntary muscles degenerate ALS Society of Canada • The senses are unimpaired THE ALS SOCIETY OF CANADA • The intellect may remain unaffected • Supports Canadians living with ALS in 393 University Avenue, Suite 1701, , ON M5G 1E6 416 497 2267 www.als.ca • ALS is not contagious • Invests in research to make ALS a treatable, not terminal disease ALS Society of Prince Edward Island SOME CASES ARE HEREDITARY P.O. Box 1643, Summerside, PEI C1N 2V5 • Less than 10 per cent are familial ALS NINE PROVINCIAL ALS SOCIETIES 902 439 1600 www.alspei.ca • Provide care and assistance ALS IS A FATAL DISEASE WITH NO EFFECTIVE • Provide information and referrals ALS Society of Québec TREATMENT AND NO CURE • Provide support for caregivers Société de la SLA du Québec, 5415 rue Paré, bureau 200 • Eighty per cent of people with ALS die within • Provide equipment for people with ALS Montreal, Québec H4P 1P7 two to five years of diagnosis • Advocate on behalf of people with ALS 514 725 2653 www.sla-quebec.ca • Some people die within a few months • Fund research • Ten per cent of those affected may live 10 ALS Society of Saskatchewan years or longer JUNE IS ALS AWARENESS MONTH 90 C Cavendish Street, Regina, SK S4N 5G7 ALS Canada and the provincial ALS Societies 306 949 4100 www.alssask.ca ALS IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF work together to raise awareness of ALS NEUROLOGICAL DEATH IN CANADA and to raise funds for research and support • The mortality rate for ALS is approximately services. Please buy a cornflower in June 2/100,000 per year to support those who suffer from this devastating disease.

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