 "ALS-PDC", a term coined by Asao Hirano and colleagues in 1961, reflects its resemblance to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.First reports of the disease surfaced in three death certificates on Guam in 1904 which made some mention of paralysis.The frequency of cases grew amongst the Chamorro until it was the leading cause of adult death between 1945 and 1956.