Can you please give to me in detail? Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected.
A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no or negative. "Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment---"No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening ("sclerosis") in the region.
As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (become smaller). Limbs begin to look "thinner" as muscle tissue atrophies.
While there is not a cure or treatment today that halts or reverses ALS, there is one FDA approved drug, Rilutek庐, that modestly slows the progression of ALS as well as several other drugs in clinical trials that hold promise.
Importantly, there are significant devise and therapies that can manage the symptoms of ALS that help people maintain as much independence as possible and prolong survival. It is important to remember that ALS is a quite variable disease; no two people will have the same journey or experiences. There are medically documented cases of people in whom ALS 鈥榖urns out,鈥?stops progressing or progresses at a very slow rate. No matter what your individual course or situation may be, The ALS Association and your medical team are here to help.
How Is the Disease Diagnosed?
Lou Gehrig's disease doesn't always begin or become worse in the same way. The disease is different for every person who has it. In general, muscle weakness, especially in the arms and legs, is an early symptom for more than half of people with ALS. Other early signs are tripping or falling a lot, dropping things, having difficulty speaking, and cramping or twitching of the muscles. As the disease gets worse over time, eating, swallowing, and even breathing may become difficult.
It may take several months to know for sure that someone has Lou Gehrig's disease. The illness can cause symptoms similar to other diseases that affect nerves and muscles, including Parkinson's disease and stroke. A doctor will examine the patient and do special tests to see if it might be one of those other disorders. (It's like using the process of elimination to figure out the answer to a multiple-choice question on a test.)
One of the tests, an electromyogram (say: eh-lek-tro-my-uh-gram), or EMG, can show that muscles are not working because of damaged nerves. Other tests include X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a spinal tap, and blood and urine evaluations. Sometimes a muscle or nerve biopsy is needed. A biopsy is when a doctor takes a tiny sample of tissue from the body to study under a microscope. Examining this tissue can help the doctor figure out what's making someone sick.
What's Life Like for Someone With Lou Gehrig's Disease?
According to the ALS Association, about half of all people with ALS live at least 3 years after they find out they have the disease, and 20% (or 1 in five) live 5 years or more. As many as 10% will survive more than 10 years.
Stephen Hawking has been living with Lou Gehrig's disease for about 40 years 鈥?ever since his diagnosis at age 21. He is the most famous long-term survivor of the disease. Born in England, Hawking is a famous physicist who furthered our understanding of the universe. He has written a lot of books, including the bestseller A Brief History of Time. He has done these things despite being confined to a wheelchair for more than 20 years, being able to move only a few fingers, and needing a voice synthesizer and special computer to speak and write.
Living with Lou Gehrig's disease is physically difficult, but it is reassuring to know that the mind is not affected. People with the disease can think as clearly as ever, are able to maintain relationships with friends and family, and should be treated respectfully and normally. Communication can be difficult because the disease affects the person's breathing and the muscles needed for speech and arm movement. With patience, the families of patients with ALS can learn to communicate effectively with their loved one.
Researchers continue to study ALS as they try to understand why it happens, and how the disease damages the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. As they learn more about the disease, researchers can continue to develop new and better treatments. ever heard of copy/paste ?!!... Report It
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyotrophic... Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, It's a rapid degeneration of muscle tissue caused by the death of nerves that control those very muscles, usually beginning in the legs and moving upward until the patient doesn't have enough muscle to breath. It really sucks. Donate when you can to the ALS Association or any others raising money for research and or aid to families. I have had two close friends die of this supposedly rare disease.
http://www.alsa.org/ |
