Article (Transfusion -- March 8, 2012): The United States Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Study: Evidence for Vector-borne Transmission of the Parasite That Causes Chagas Disease Among United States Blood Donors.
The ALS Association says the average lifespan of someone diagnosed with the condition is between two and five years. More than 50 percent make it past year three. Twenty percent make it past year five. From there, the number plummets. Less than 5 percent make it past two decades.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of motor neurons leading to progressive weakness of the limbs, bulbar muscles, and respiratory muscles. Fifty percent of patients die within 3 years after onset of symptoms, mainly due to respiratory failure (1, 2).