The clinical picture and demographics of ALS in China

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the neurodegenerative disease involving both upper motor neurons and lower motor neurons. According to a multicentre study from Chinese ALS association, the mean age at onset of ALS is 52.4±12.1 years in China,which is earlier than many developed countries. ALS is more common in clinical practice than before, the incidence seems increasing in the past years, although there is still no exact data of epidemiology study based on population in China. Population based case-control investigations of genetic and environmental factor are needed to identify the potential factors for Chinese ALS patients.