Lou Gehrig's Disease Analysis

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

Have you ever heard of ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease? For many people, ALS is a disorder that they may not know much about. I never heard of it either until my father was diagnosed with this disease in 2006. Because there is no known cure, it is important to detect this disease early, so that proper treatments and preparation can be done before it’s too late.

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.

It affects the motor neuron from the brain to the spinal cord then spreads to all the muscles in the body. You will not be able to simply reach for a smartphone or pick up trash off the floor because your muscles do not function the same and may not function at all. If you acquire ALS you could have full body paralysis. There are two types of ALS out there. There is familial and then there is sporadic. Familial is the type of ALS that can be inherited and passed down by parents or grandparents. But this only happens about 5-10% in the United States. It can almost happen to anyone out there. There is a 50% chance that it can be passed down but it does not always come into effect. Then there is sporadic ALS. You get this by seriously injuring your head or maybe even just a slight hit and it was just right to cause it. This is the more likely type you would get. In the United States you they are 90-95% chance of getting due to a brain traumatic injury. ALS can cause problems to your speech. It could make you have vocal cord spasms and impaired voice. It can cause difficulty of swallowing and can make you drool. You could have substantial weight loss, problems breathing, and it is hard to do everyday things depending on how severe your diagnoses is. It is normally in people ages between 40-70’s. It has a 100% fatality rate and the numbers in the US fluctuate year to year but usually makes it up to about 20,000 people could get it at any time but NFL players and military are more likely to get it because of the brain trauma they have been

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.

In its early stages, ALS usually has symptoms of muscle wasting and mild weakness which spread gradually in the body. Tim Simmons diagnosed with ALS 2 years ago, after which he retired to pursue his activities of interest. ALS life expectancy is usually 2-5 years, though some may die much later and some sooner meaning that Tim is in his terminal phase of the disease. His husband, Ralph also has health problems of GERD and osteoarthritis in his back. Tim is involved in a palliative care program consisting of team members like a nurse, social worker, primary care provider, physical therapist and a speech-language pathologist. He needs this because the care will help Ralph and Pat get valuable advice, support and guidance for grief, comfort care, and bereavement counseling.

ALS was also called Lou Gehrig disease. The reason why it was called the Lou Gehrig diseases is because he was a famous MLB baseball player that was diagnosed with ALS and later on died from it. Lou Gehrig was born in New York City, on June 19, 1903. Lou devoted his whole life in Baseball and his family. Later on Lou was having a hard time tying his shoes and had a feeling that this can be his end of his career. In 1939, The doctor had a bad news for him which was that he was diagnosed with ALS.

The word “Amyotrophic” comes from the Greek language meaning “no nourishment”. ALS causes muscle weakness, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, loss of muscles, muscle spasms, over reactive reflexes, and fatigue. The symptoms of ALS increase rapidly, which makes an individual lose control of the muscles and begin having slurred speech. The arms and legs begin to feel weak and tired unexpectedly, while also experiencing cramps. When a medical professional diagnose someone with ALS they have about 2-5 years to live on average. Although about 10% of people with ALS live up to 10 years with the disease, while 25% live up to 5 years and 50% live up to 3 years. The average age that an individual is diagnosed with ALS is 55, but varies from the ages of

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

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

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

The effects of ALS are certain cells in the brain and the spinal cord are needed to keep our muscles moving.

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.