Essay on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Case Study

C. Strictly speaking, ALS involves degeneration and death of both upper and lower motor neurons. While most patients have clear loss of both types of motor neurons, some patients have greater loss of upper motor neurons, while other patients have greater loss of lower motor. These differences do not change the diagnosis. In these circumstances, the more general term ‘motor neuron disease’ is appropriate (MDA).

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.

People first need to know what ALS is. ALS is very difficult to diagnose. So far there is no

“A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language ‘A’ meaning no or negative. ‘Myo’ refers to muscle, and “Trophic” means nourishment-’No muscle nourishment’... ‘Lateral’ identifies the areas in a person's spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located.” (“What is ALS?”). Literally, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis means no muscle nourishment in the spine. In this disease, nerve cells in both the brain and spinal cord slowly die over a period of time. The cells, referred to as motor neurons, control the muscles throughout the body, resulting in death or paralyzation as they degenerate. At any given time, ALS can strike anyone. It is not contagious, however, in about 10% of cases, ALS runs in the family making it somewhat hereditary (“What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?”). “The incidence of ALS is two per 100,000 people” (“Facts You Should Know). Most of the time, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), acts on middle-aged and older adults, however there have been noted cases of patients much younger. Considering that a friend or family member can be diagnosed with this horrible disease, everyone should pitch into ALS charities in hope to find a

The four troubled systems are the respiratory, skeletal, nervous, and muscular. The respiratory system is affected due to the fact that ALS paralyzes the respiratory muscles which hinder a person's breathing. ALS causes stress to the skeletal system by weakening the human body. The bones become tremendously brittle and are unable to move like they once were. Another organ system affected by ALS is the nervous system. ALS stops the brain from receiving information from the rest of the body, like how to move the arms, legs, and hands. Lastly, the muscular system's major functions are to produce movement and provide support for the body. ALS destroys the motor neurons and in the beginning stages causes the muscles in the body to have minimal movement and then eventually result in paralysis. Therefore, the disease does not allow the muscular system to perform the functions essential to the human

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting both the upper and lower motor neurons in the cerebral cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord. It is the most common motor neuron disease in the adult population with a prevalence of two to seven cases per 100,000 individuals. Survival rates in persons with ALS show considerable variation. Five-year survival rates vary from 7% to 40%, whereas 10-year survival rates range from 8% to 16% (cite).

As stated in the case study, the reason why the symptoms are muscular is that the nerves that control the muscles begin to function improperly and die off. Once the nerves die, the muscles aren’t being used anymore and begin to atrophy, leading to the lack of muscular function seen in Cecil’s journal (Fleming, 2012). Similar to question 2, ALS symptoms have to do with nerve cells. The nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary movement (called motor neurons) degenerate and die. This causes a lack of voluntary muscle control, which is evidenced by the symptoms of the disease (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2014).

The brain is a complex organ that controls all of our bodies’ functions. In a normal functioning brain, there are thousands of neurons that lead to the muscles so they can control movement and feeling throughout the body. A rare disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affects these neurons in the brain, specifically in the medulla oblongata and the spinal cord. ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to the inability of the brain to signal muscle movements, which cause the person to be unable to walk, speak, eat or breathe, and ultimately leads to paralysis and death.

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

There are many symptoms during the onset of ALS that are often overlooked that can include: Twitching, cramping, muscle stiffness or weakness, slurred and or nasal speech, or difficulty chewing or swallowing. Each patients symptoms vary depending on what muscles are damage first. Individuals can initially have the lower extremities affected or the upper extremities as well as noticeable speech problems. Damage to upper motor neurons can cause spastic muscles and contributes to an increase in reflexes, such as the gag reflex(7). Muscles may become weaker, however, patients are still able to perform voluntary muscle contractions with sensation still intact. Lower motor neuron damage is linked to muscles weakness, atrophy, cramps, twitching, and a decline of reflexes(BOOK). As the disease progresses throughout the patients body, they have increasing problems with muscle movement, maintaining weight, speaking, and swallowing. As muscles of the respiratory system weaken, patients also have difficulty breathing on their own and must depend on a ventilator

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – also referred to as Motor Neurone Disease in most Commonwealth countries, and as Lou Gehrig's disease in the United States– is a debilitating disease with varied etiology characterized by rapidly progressive weakness, muscle atrophy and fasciculations which is a spontaneous contraction affecting small number of muscle fiber. This is often referred “Lou Gehrig’s disease”. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Muscle cramps and muscle twitching all happens when people have ALS disease. First it damages the spinal cord pathway and through the motor neurons, bodies to move and is made up of the brain, nerve, and muscle. The things that we do every day like running all of that is controlled by the neuromuscular system. By the time that passes by the ALS disease causes these motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to shrink and goes away, so muscle no longer receive signals to move. The result of this is that the muscle becomes smaller and weaker. About 2 out of 100,000 people will get Lou Gehrig’s disease. 5 out of 10% ALS cases in the United State are in Hereditary, means the disease runs through a certain families. At least 90% of cases are not inherited, this disease is called the Sporadic ALS disease.

A patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) would be able to be diagnosed from a patient’s history and a physical examination. Although, the symptoms for this disease might not appear until the age of the 30 with the onset of age 55. A patient with ALS will experience muscle weakness, asymmetric involvement of muscles, decrease of body movements, flaccid and spastic paralysis, and not having control of autonomic, sensory or mental effects.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or better known as ALS, is a neurodegenerative disorder that damages the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord which results in gradual loss of muscle function and paralysis. From time of diagnosis, most people only live two to five years. It is a fatal disease that often kills once it reaches the muscles that help you breathe. Even if invasive measures are used to prolong life such as using a ventilator, death eventually comes from either an infection, heart failure, or another similar problem. According to the ALS Association, over 5,600 hundred people are diagnosed in the U.S. per year. As of now, there is still no cure.

Motor neurons from the brain go 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 leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the control muscle movement is lost. ALS tends to start at the legs and work its way up throughout the body. The patient has no control over their body.

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.