What is ALS
ALS - Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Is a very serious disorder of the nervous system that causes the nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain to die slowly. On average, a person only lives 3 years after the diagnosis has been made. The exact cause is unknown. 350,000 people worldwide suffer from the disease. The Netherlands has around 1500 ALS patients. Every year 500 people die, but there are also around 500 more patients.
To date, there are no medicines or therapies to treat or cure this terrible disease. For that reason, money is very much needed for scientific research, a lot of money. In recent years there have been some breakthroughs in the field of ALS research but the end line is still nowhere to be found.
More about ALS
You can find more detailed information about ALS on the ALS Netherlands website.
The ALS Center, the Dutch expertise center for ALS, is the place where, in addition to diagnosis and treatment by an ALS treatment team, scientific research is also conducted for the purpose of finding medicines and improving care.
