Following the diagnosis of ALS the main goal of treatment is focused at relieving the symptoms. The most important matter in managing ALS patients is that they continually sustain the highest amount of movement and activity as possible and remain comfortable while doing so. Although a cure for ALS has not yet been developed, effective treatments do exist to assist the patients in their fight with the disease. Physicians urge the patients to carry on with their everyday lives doing all the activities and physically exerting themselves as they would normally do. But, they also recommend the patients to limit their amount of physical exertion
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord (Plowman, 2015, p.1151). The motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles in the body. When ALS is in a degenerate stage, this causes paralyzation and loss of muscle control, which can lead to one’s death. The ALS Association is a national nonprofit organization that is dedicated to fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease by providing support and information to those that have this disease, as well as spreading awareness effective for change. The ALS Association aims to discover new treatment for those living with Lou Gehrig’s disease, while actively seeking a cure
ALS is also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a disease in which the brain, nerves, and spinal cord deteriorate. It attacks every part of the body except the brain. Causing major body malfunction along with muscle weakening. Which includes lack of strength, the ability to move arms, legs and body, eventually you lose the ability to breathe. The average time of life after being diagnosed is two - five years. It was believed to be inherited or maybe an infection. After years of research scientist have found a major
The causes of getting ALS are getting multiple hits to the head, may not be all at once. It can cause serious problems that affects the daily life, for example hard to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe. People are being diagnosed with ALS at the ages of 40-70 with an average of 55 years. New studies state that athletes are being diagnosed at a younger age do to getting multiple hits to the head related to being in sports. After being diagnosed your life expectancy is 3-5 years, however it can increase with therapies and riluzole which is a drug and is very expensive. The disease isn't cured, it just slows down the disease. A well known person who had ALS is Lou Gehrig, he was a baseball player for the New York Yankees and was in the Hall of Fame in 1939. Started showing symptoms of ALS in 1938 and died on June 2nd
There are 20,000 new cases of ALS diagnosed each year in the United States. This yields an incidence of 3 per 100,000 (Brown, 2006). There is no known cause for ALS in 95% of patients; however, 5% have an identifiable genetic mutation (Elman, 2016). The disease can present in individuals less than 30 years of age, but peaks between 40 and 60 years of age. Before the age of 65, more diagnoses are made in men; after the age of 65, gender incidence is equal. There is no clear-cut ethnic or racial predisposition in ALS (Ricks, 2016). The lifespan is approximately 3-4 years after diagnosis. However, in 10 % of
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig Disease, it's a disease that affect the neurons in the brain and its ability to communicate with other neurons leading to complications to the spinal cord. This disease affects the victim in various ways it's a progressive disease meaning it starts off slowly
Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a fairly common disease in America, as nearly 4,600 people are diagnosed with the disease annually and someone is diagnosed every 90 minutes. The majority of people that have been diagnosed with ALS are middle to older aged caucasian men in between their 40’s and their 70’s, yet the diagnostic is not exclusive to any race, color, or age. “Over a period of months or years, patients with ALS develop severe, progressive muscular weakness and other symptoms caused by loss of function in both upper and lower motor neurons. Sphincter control, sensory function, intellectual abilities and skin integrity are preserved.” (Walling, 2013, pg. 1) This is a very crippling disease that can be transmitted in many different ways. The different types of Lou Gehrig 's disease: Sporadic, Familial, and Guamanian. Sporadic, which is the most common type of ALS, is the kind that has been sporadically obtain, meaning, it was not genetically passed down from generation to generation. Unlike Sporadic ALS, Familial ALS is given to future generations through genetics and by family members that have Lou Gehrig 's disease. The disease is typically passed through the genes of males, there has been very few time that the genes were passed to a female. The third type of ALS is an extremely high incidence of ALS was observed in Guam and the Trust Territories of the Pacific in the 1950 's. ALS is said to be both a genetic and environmental
Another name for this disease is Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Lou Gehrig died on June 2, 1941 from ALS. Lou Gehrig was one of the most famous baseball players of all time, right up next to Babe Ruth. Ruth and Gehrig both played for the New York Yankees in the 30’s and 40’s. ALs is a
People first need to know what ALS is. ALS is very difficult to diagnose. So far there is no
ALS translates amyo to muscle, trophic to atrophy, and sclerosis to hardening. ALS is caused by the motor neurons in a person’s brain to be damaged. This leads to the communication between the neurons in a person’s brain and spinal cord to be discontinued. When diagnosed, the victim experiences difficulty speaking, swallowing, muscle movement, muscle twitching, and eventually, paralysis. The person’s ability to function independently will begin to hinder, causing them to need personal assistance. Lamentably, this disease has no current cure, however, people with this disease can obtain treatments to help symptoms. Medical research also shows that young athletes also suffer from ALS, because they typically obtain head injuries when playing contact sports. The exposure of a person to head injuries can cause ALS, a diminish in muscle nourishment, consequently leading to
The first source is an article from kidshealth.org. It mainly explains what ALS is, using the method of persuasion logos. It gives you the
ALS is named for its underlying pathophysiology, which is “amyotrophy” referring to the atrophy of muscles fibers, which denervated as their corresponding anterior horn cells degenerate. “Lateral sclerosis” refers to the changes seen in lateral columns of the spinal cord as upper motor neuron axons in these areas degenerate and are replaced by fibrous astrocytes. ALS affects motor neurons at two or more levels of the motor neuron network supplying multiple regions of the body and as a consequence, the communication between the neurons and muscle is lost, promoting progressive muscle weakening. That is, ALS affects lower motor neurons that reside in the anterior horn of the spinal cord and in the brain stem, corticospinal upper motor neuron
ALS is a difficult disease to diagnose. There is no one test or procedure to ultimately establish the diagnosis of ALS. A clinical examination and
There are 6,000 people each year that are diagnosed with ALS, but around 20,000 people are living with this deadly disease at any given time who are unaware. ALS is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis that affects body functions and periodically the nervous system gets damaged. ALS is not the only disease that harms people, there is also Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy which is long for CTE. CTE damages the brain function which can lead to four different medical illnesses. ALS and CTE are becoming more common in athletes. The sports that are causing this fatal disease can vary from football to golf. In addition, concussions and head trauma can lead to critical brain impairment or even death. The sports world should keep in mind the well-being
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is the most common form and accounts for roughly 60% to 70% of all cases.