Study: Israeli ALS patients survive longer than anywhere in the world

A study encompassing data collected from Israel for the first time found that the survival rate among Israelis suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is two to four times that of patients in other countries.

In global terms, between 5 and 10 percent of ALS sufferers survive more than 10 years after being diagnosed. But in Israel, 20 percent of ALS patients survive longer.

ALS is a degenerative disease with no known cure.

The epidemiology department of the Maccabi health maintenance organization ordered a study encompassing 456 patients diagnosed with ALS between 1997 and 2013.

The study found that approximately half of the patients survived at least five years after being diagnosed, 40 percent survived at least eight years after being diagnosed and more than 20 percent survived more than 10 years.

The Israeli survival rate is significantly higher than that of the world, which could explain why the prevalence of ALS cases in Israel is considered high (11 cases per 100,000 people) by Western standards. In Europe, the incidence of ALS is 4-8 per 100,000; in the U.S., it is 3-4 per 100,000; and only in Japan, the incidence is similar to that of Israel.

It has not yet been established why the Israeli patients survive longer, but one possibility could be early diagnosis.

Almost 60 percent of all ALS sufferers are men, and the latest study indicated an alarming upward trend in male diagnoses in 2011-2013. In that time period, 22-23 cases were diagnosed among men annually, as opposed to 9-21 diagnoses among men annually in years prior.

The average age of diagnosis is 58.

"The high survival rate could be due to supportive treatment provided by the Israeli health care system, and thanks to family support systems," explained Clara Weil, a Maccabi epidemiologist.

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