ALS Disease Research Paper

Dylan Rizzo Anatomy & Physiology Mr. Molinari Disease Research Paper: Lou Gehrig’s Disease / ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a classified as a degenerative neurological disorder that inhibits motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain to function properly. This disease eventually results in paralysis and imminent death over a period of time. ALS patients have anywhere from a few months, to a couple years to live after diagnosis since their nervous systems are slowly destroyed, rendering the body useless, and sustaining life impossible.

Research essay (ALS) An individual diagnosed with a terminal illness has one major battle to fight. Families of terminally ill patients suffer significant effects related to an illness, forcing some households to have large debts and making them unable to afford food and other necessaries. One specific terminal illness is called

Amyotrophic meaning, “no muscle nourishment” in Greek, lateral meaning where the neurons are in the spinal cord, and sclerosis meaning “scarring.” ALS, often known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” named after the New York Yankee who first brought awareness to the disease in the late 1930’s, is a neurodegenerative disease, which affects the neurons in the brain. The nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that are responsible for sending and receiving motor signals progressively die off, causing the deterioration of simple motor skills in patients with ALS, such as walking, talking, and eventually speaking and breathing, however thinking is not affected by ALS. Early symptoms cause the person to slowly lose mobility of limbs, but in a matter of a few years, the person loses the mobility of most of their body and will eventually lose the ability to eat and breath, which will ultimately cause death. ALS deteriorates the patient's body, however does not affect the patient's state of mind or sanity while the rest of the body shuts down. People usually get ALS between the ages of 40 and 70. However, there is a growing trend where athletes are getting ALS in their thirties. ALS can be contributed to genetic predisposition, which means that the gene that is responsible for ALS is already in the person’s DNA. In recent studies, however, it was observed that individuals who have had suffered multiple concussions or any other head trauma are

Works Cited ALS Association. "ALS." ALS Affects. The ALS Association. 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.

Lou Gehrig, one of the greats in baseball, had his amazing record taken from him during the 1939 season when he gave the umpire the cards of the players and announced he would no longer play the game. The reason for this was Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis disease or ALS. This

All about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Multiple people say they created the Ice bucket challenge but one was about a teenager who slide into home base while playing baseball he went to the doctor and the doctors found out he had ALS. His parents were shocked, ALS is one of not very many incurable diseases. His mother wanted to raise awareness starting the challenge. The Ice Bucket Challenge helps people with ALS, anyone can do the Ice bucket challenge and the movement is to raise awareness.

ALS and CTE’s are horrible diseases that don't have a cure and have no age requirement weather young or old. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or commonly heard as ALS means no muscle nourishment. It is neurodegenerative disease in which the nerve cells die in the

ALS and CTE Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that attacks the nervous system causing paralysis to the patient’s body. The victim’s intellect, emotions, and memories lie unharmed by the disease causing emotional discomfort. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a disease that attacks the mind, affects memories and

Imagine you are a 78-year-old man, a beloved professor from Brandeis University. Every day you take notice of the increased difficulty of breathing, more so than the usual, or the out-of-breath feeling from climbing a flight of stairs. About two or three weeks later, you start to feel the muscles

This article seeks to define that diseases of the peripheral nerves can also produce symptoms similar to the motor neuron disease such as ALS. "Sensory disturbance due to involvement of the nerve fibres carrying sensory impulses is usually involve." Affected individuals are between ages 50 to 70 years of age and have upper and lower motor neuron weakness. Paralysis progresses rapidly, and death often occurs with three years of diagnosis.

Mental health is a fragile thing and terminal conditions such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) greatly impact it. ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks a person’s physical function. It progressively saps a person’s strength and leads to the failure of organs. Unfortunately, this disease is not fully understood and is difficult to diagnose (Rosenfeld & Strong, 2015, pp. 318-319). Knowing fully well that this disease is a death sentence, ALS patients generally have a negative outlook and this significantly influences their mental health. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis can be diagnosed mainly through the medical perspective and has been extensively researched to determine the components and controversies it contains.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Aisha Fain St. Mary’s University Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive and degenerative neurological disorder that affects the cells in both the brain and the spinal chord and has affected nearly twelve to twenty thousand people, according to Moglia and Margolis (2017). This disease may have a great affect on the musculoskeletal system, the nervous system, as well as the respiratory system. Initially, there is no actual known cause to this disease; however, researchers may have an idea of what may play a possible role including genes. In addition, there are a number of symptoms that may also be experienced in patients with Lou Gehrig’s disease including “slurred speech, weakening grip, clumsiness/unsteadiness, and weakened limbs,” (Moglia &

In order to recognize ALS, there are various signs and symptoms to look out for. The classic presentation of ALS is insidious, progressive, asymptomatic muscular weakness and atrophy along with neurologic signs, particularly hyper-reflexia. The precise signs and symptoms of ALS depend on the area of the nervous system that is damaged. Patients with upper limb onset may first notice difficulty in actions such as, buttoning cloths, picking up small objects or turning keys. Those with lower limb onset may complain of stumbling, tripping, foot drop, or awkward when walking or running. Speech problems, such as slurring, hoarseness or decreased volume, are most common presentations in the bulbar form of ALS. Subsequently, spreading paralysis of the

The manifestations of ALS are caused by the location of motor neuron death. When upper motor neurons die, the symptoms include problems controlling fine movements, spasms, dysphagia, dysphonia and dysarthria (Porth & Matfin, 2009). “Manifestations of lower motor neuron destruction include fasciculations, weakness, muscle atrophy, and hyporeflexia” (Porth & Matfin, 2009, p. 1284). Patients with early signs of ALS usually complain of feeling weak on one side, which is due to the slowing of electrical impulses to that group of muscles (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2010). Since the impulses are slowed, they are not receiving adequate electrical stimulation to move and the person feels weak. As the disease progresses, all the motor neurons die and are not regenerated so, the patient is left paralyzed, losing the ability to speak, swallow and breathe (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2010).

The other 25% may present symptoms described as bulbar onset ALS. These patients may first notice difficulty with proper speech and swallowing. Patients will often lose their voice and have difficulty forming words, caused by a loss of tongue mobility. In rare cases, patients might demonstrate respiratory onset ALS where the intercostal muscles are compromised first.