Through the network, patients connect with others who have the same disease or condition and track and share their own experiences with the goal to improve outcomes. In the process, they generate data about the real-world nature of disease. With over 600,000 members, PatientsLikeMe is a source for real-world disease information and its patient-generated data form the basis of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific studies. PatientsLikeMe was inspired by the life experiences of Stephen Heywood, diagnosed in 1998 at the age of 29 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. The company was founded in 2004 by his brothers Jamie and Ben Heywood and long-time family friend Jeff Cole.