[Prognosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--clinical analysis]

We report the results of a study on the long-term outcome of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The clinical subjects were 81 ALS patients, 75 of whom required assisted ventilation, and 57 of whom have died. We found that the following factors were associated with a longer clinical course: (1) younger onset: (2) female sex: (3) left-sided predominance of amyotrophy: (4) slower development of bulbar symptoms.