What is the youngest age someone has been diagnosed with ALS?

ADA, Mich. — A year ago, eight-year-old Kennedy Arney was diagnosed with juvenile ALS. Just seven at the time, she became the youngest person diagnosed with the illness in the United States.

Can you get ALS at a young age?

Most people develop ALS between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age of 55 at the time of diagnosis. However, rare cases of the disease do occur in persons in their 20s and 30s.

Can a 20 year old get ALS?

ALS can affect anyone worldwide regardless of racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic status. In general, symptoms commonly develop between the ages of 40 and 70, with the average being 55 years at diagnosis. The disease is most common among people 60 years or older, but nearly 10 percent of ALS patients are 45 or younger.

Can a 19 year old get ALS?

Although it usually strikes around age 55, doctors report that patients seem to be getting younger, for reasons they don’t understand. They’re increasingly encountering ALS patients in their twenties, thirties, even in their late teens.

How can I rule out ALS?

Abnormalities in muscles seen in an EMG can help doctors diagnose or rule out ALS . An EMG can also help guide your exercise therapy. Nerve conduction study. This study measures your nerves’ ability to send impulses to muscles in different areas of your body.

What does early ALS feel like?

Early symptoms of ALS are usually characterized by muscle weakness, tightness (spasticity), cramping, or twitching (fasciculations). This stage is also associated with muscle loss or atrophy.

Can a 17 year old get ALS?

Although this disease can strike anyone, ALS is extremely rare in kids. According to the ALS Association, most people who develop it are adults between 40 and 70.

Why did Stephen Hawking get ALS?

Stephen Hawking told the British Medical Journal that this motor neuron disease has many potential causes, and that his ailment might be due to an inability to absorb vitamins [1]. After numerous tests, the doctors told him that his was an atypical case.

What was your first ALS symptom?

The earliest signs of ALS usually include muscle weakness or stiffness (spasticity). ALS typically affects all muscles under voluntary control, and the person ultimately loses their strength and ability to eat, speak, grasp things, move and even breathe.

What were your first ALS symptoms?

Early symptoms include:

  • Muscle twitches in the arm, leg, shoulder, or tongue.
  • Muscle cramps.
  • Tight and stiff muscles (spasticity)
  • Muscle weakness affecting an arm, a leg, the neck, or diaphragm.
  • Slurred and nasal speech.
  • Difficulty chewing or swallowing.

Can ALS come on suddenly?

As I have mentioned before, ALS does not start abruptly. Consider Lou Gehrig. At first he never dreamed he had a disease. That’s the same problem all of our patients face.