Als Pros And Cons

Once these symptoms are apparent enough, a clinical diagnosis is the next step of action. There is no one definitive test or procedure to this date to distinguish a clear, formal diagnosis of the disease, making the task nearly impossible. There are many other diseases with some of the same symptoms as ALS, making it that much harder to make a reliable decision on the matter. A series of tests can be done to rule out other diseases from the question, eventually leaving ALS as the only logical diagnosis. Some of the diagnostic exams include a spinal tap, x-rays, including an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), myelogram of cervical spine, muscle and nerve biopsies, and an overall thorough neurological inspection.

In addition, people need to know the symptoms of ALS. In ALS, there is deterioration to a point that all movement, including breathing, stops. Muscle weakness first develops in the muscles, such as the hands, and spreads through other muscles closer to the brain. Such early symptoms as this can hardly be noticed. Early symptoms of ALS are very slight and often overlooked. They begin as simple things such as tripping or dropping things. Twitching or cramping of muscles and fatigue of the arms and legs may soon follow causing difficulty in daily activities such as walking or dressing (ALS Association). In more advanced stages shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing and swallowing show until the body is completely taken over by the disease. Intellect, eye motion, bladder function, and sensation are the only abilities left unharmed by the disease. There are many symptoms for ALS and if any of these symptoms are noticed, that person could have ALS.

ALS is usually described as a neurological disorder that weakens your muscles. In other words, your nerve cells begin to die and you lose voluntary muscle control. It affects every person differently, but it most commonly appears in your upper core

Professionalism has a different meaning to everyone. To me it is defined as "the skill and good judgment that is expected from a person who is trained to do a specific job." As an EMS provider, I will be in contact with the public that is looking at me to be the best in my profession. They will expect me to carry myself in a professional manner. They will also expect the best care that I can provide, and that I can acknowledge when I need to call for ALS personal to render better care if needed.

ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a disease that attacks the muscles and impacts a person’s physical function. Overtime, the symptoms will

Some of the symptoms include slurred and nasal speech, difficulty chewing or swallowing, cramping, stiff or tight muscles, or muscle weakness (NINDS:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Fact sheet). The reason that the symptoms are so common to other diseases, causes many people to overlook the possibility of ALS. It’s not until more obvious weaknesses are present that physicians begin to suspect ALS. This basically causes people to be blindsided by the diagnose of this disease and at times it has been reported that people fall into

ALS is a disease which is prevent the body from producing normal things. Most people who develop ALS are between the age of 40 and 70, with an average age of 55. The athletes is between 20 and 30. “Lou Gehrig, he was a baseball player, he had ALS in his 30 years old”. “Dou Revie, he was a football player, he had ALS when he was 29”. People who have ALS gradually become more disabled, they can’t walk, speak, eat and anything in

It's a brave question because the answers are not very pleasant." When an individual is diagnosed with ALS, they begin a totally new way of life. Surprising, in many cases it can often be difficult to diagnose someone with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. However, with a history of their problems and a few other tools, it is possible. One of the most common ways to diagnose someone with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is by looking at their complications. Some of the most common early signs of ALS are a patient's legs may seem to be heavier than normal or

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) presents clinically with upper motor neuron, and lower motor neuron signs. ALS is characterized by progressive death of UMNs in the motor cortex and corticospinal tracts, the LMNs in the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord, and

Imagine you are a 78-year-old man. A beloved professor from Brandeis University. Day by day, take notice of the increased difficulty of breathing, more so than the usual out-of-breath feeling from climbing a flight of stairs. About two or three weeks later, you start to feel muscles in your body cramping up, even while partaking in slight activity. After various testing, your results come back you have ALS, short for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Some people will experience a tough time holding a pencil or others will notice a difference in pitch with their voice. Some other symptoms include difficulty swallowing and talking and moving your hands, arms, or legs. Since these symptoms vary with people, not everyone will experience these, but one experience that is similar to all of them is that they will all get progressive muscle weakness and start to become paralyzed. In order to diagnose ALS, it is not possible to be sure if one test. Since this is a tough disease to diagnose, it requires to be tested with a few different tests in order to verify that someone has ALS. Some tests include, Electrodiagnostic tests including electromyography and nerve conduction, blood and urine to test for high resolution serum protein electrophoresis, thyroid hormone, and parathyroid hormone levels, spinal tap, X-rays/MRI, myelogram, muscle/nerve biopsy, and a neurological

“Some of the muscles that were affected in the early stages could be paralyzed in the middle stages.” Musculr Dystrophy Assocation. "Stages of ALS Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis." Muscular Dystrophy Association. N.p., 2014. Web. 01 Nov. But the other muscle that weren’t effected become week and fatigue may occur. The unused muscles may become rigid, painful, and sometimes deformed. The patient has a chance to fall and not be able to get back up. Also in this stage in this the patient can no longer drive. The patient also may have trouble eating or managing saliva. Patient also may have trouble breathing while lying down. Patients may not to be able to control the emotional side such as laughing or crying. In this stage of ALS caregivers should ask for help from other people such as at home medical care, because the tasks that they have to perform enlarge and they take care of the patient alone. They may also need to have help with the patient’s bath, using the restroom, getting dressed, communicating, and getting around to places. Also the caregiver needs to watch out for the patient and look for any signs of depression. If so you need to talk to a doctor or counselor about getting the patient help with getting use to ALS and

There are few moments in life seared into your memory so vividly that you can recall the details of that event, even years later. One of those days, for me, was May 29th, 2010. I remember where I was when I got the phone call and who was in the room with me. I remember the clock read 6:57 p.m. For some strange reason, I remember what I was wearing. I also remember that this was the moment my mother told me she had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

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).

Typically, the muscle weakness will affect a limb, and nasal or slurred speech will soon develop. If the patient is limb onset ALS, the symptoms will first occur in the arms and legs. They may have difficulty with dexterous tasks such as writing or opening a door. If the lower limbs are affected, they may notice trouble walking and experience tripping or stumbling. Dropped foot, as demonstrated in the above case study, can also develop from muscle weakness and can cause the individual to drag his or her foot. Limb onset ALS is more typical than all other types, occurring in about 75% of diagnosed individuals.