Are there gender differences in ALS?

ALS generally progresses in the same way in both sexes. There are no significant differences in the age of onset, the rate of progression, or the duration of the disease. Certain forms of ALS are more common in men or women. For example, a specific form of ALS, flail arm syndrome, occurs predominantly in men (ratio of men to women: 9 to 1). In contrast, a specific form of ALS characterized by spasticity of the tongue (pseudobulbar syndrome) combined with a behavioral disorder (frontotemporal dementia, FTD) occurs predominantly in female patients. These gender-specific forms of ALS are very rare overall.