Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also knows at Lou Gehrig’s diseases is a motor neuron disease that affect the motor system specially the anterior motor horn cells, corticobulbar/corticospinal tracts, and motor cranial nerves. ALS is a fatal and the causes are unknown. A small percent of the ALS patients are known to have familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS causes severe muscle atrophy since the neuron cell connections to the muscle are lost. After many studies the scientist were able to find evidence that imply that the skeletal muscle tissue is the principal target of ALS toxicity. Until today the pathophysiological mechanism of both familial and sporadic ALS are unknown. After many years of research the scientific community was …show more content…
What makes ALS fatal is that there is no treatment that stops or reverse the progression of the disease. ALS, cause a lot of patient and caregiver emotional and physical stress which in return affect the patient even more. Any ALS patient after receiving diagnosis there life expectancy is from two to three years. Although with all new development like invasive mechanical ventilation the patient life can be extended. Recently scientific discoveries are making clearer the disease cellular process, which open new doors to find better multidisciplinary treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis leading to the main goal of finding a …show more content…
After many years of studies there is a way to manage the symptoms and to extend the life of the patients. In 1994, Rilutek was approved and is the only drug used for ALS (Bensimon G, Lacomblez L. Meninger V 1994). This drugs benefits still really low when the progression of ALS is really fast, Rilutek only slow the progression of the disease by ten percent. Unfortunately, the benefit is not the same for every patient and many can not tolerated or see any benefits from taking the medication. Also, the high prices for Rilutek make it even more difficult for patient without any insurance or monetary availability to pay for the drug. The care for an ALS patient required a lot of education, counseling and symptoms
“ Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscles (muscle action we are able to control, such as those in the arms, legs, and face).” By what A.L.S association.org says. A neurological disease is a disease that affects the brain and gives it many diseases like brain tumors, epilepsy, and, Parkinson's. “A.L.S is a neurological disease that weakens the muscles to where you can barely move or speak” said alsa.org. You can only live up to two to five years with als. A.L.S is a very rare disease every 100,000 people get it. By what alsa.org said. That means 73,571 people has it in the Whole world right now. Als is a very rare
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis was discovered in 1869 by a French neurologist named Jean-Martin Charcot. However, the disease did not become known worldwide until 1939 when famous baseball player, Lou Gehrig was diagnosed. The disease later took his life. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS, or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons extend from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles distributed throughout the human body. Degeneration of motor neurons eventually lead to death. Amyotrophic comes from the Greek language which translate into "No muscle nourishment. ALS can be summed
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal disease, also known as Motor Neurons Disease, Charchot Disease and Lou Gehrig disease. ALS destroys the Central Nervous System (CNS) and causes damage to the upper and lower motor neurons in the brain. Signs and symptoms are characterized as: muscles weakness, muscle atrophy, twitching and reduced muscle reflexes. Eventually the patient will become paralyzed and rely on a tracheostomy and ventilator for breathing (ALS Association [ALSA], 2010).
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
“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
Those who suffer from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis live the rest of their lives bedridden, or are embedded to a chair. The average patient diagnosed with ALS are males between the ages of 40-70. Athletes who are diagnosed in their late 20’s due to repetitive head injuries typically live 3-5 years after the diagnosis. Those who are fortunate enough may live 10 years post
ALS is one of the most common neuromuscular diseases worldwide (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Fact Sheet).There are three different types of ALS causes there is, familial, sporadic, and guamanian. Familial is 5-10% , sporadic is the most common which is 90-95% of all ALS causes and guamanian is rare variant. Guamanian is very similar to ALS almost the same and it happens because of something toxic that they are eating which messes with their nervous system (ALS[Lou Gehrig’s Disease]). It is also a disease varied with etiology characterized by rapidly progressive in weakness in the muscles.
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
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.
ALS, better known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is considered as a complex genetic disorder, in which multiple hereditary and environmental factors combine to cause this disease. This is seen as an illness of parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. In ALS, the motor neurons (nerve cells that control muscle cells) are gradually lost. When these motor neurons turn out to be lost, the muscles they control become weak and ultimately nonfunctional. We see that “amyotrophic” is rooted in Greek origin meaning without nourishment to muscles and refers to the loss of signals nerve cells normally send to muscle cells. “Lateral” simply means to the side and refers to the location of the damage in the spinal cord. “Sclerosis” means hardened and refers to the toughened nature of the spinal cord in advanced ALS. This progressive neurodegenerative disease, that was first discovered 150 years ago, is associated with a life expectancy of approximately three years after symptom onset. In the United States, ALS is also known as Lou Gherig’s Disease, named after the Yankees Baseball player who passed away because of it in 1941. In the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, it’s often referred to as motor neuron disease in reference to the cells that are lost in the disorder (ALS Association, 2015).
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).
Everyday, an average of 15 people are diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS) also commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Across the world there are more than 5,600 cases of ALS every year. People all around the world are open to being diagnosed with ALS, it affects people of all ages, races, and gender. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis has affected millions of families and individuals since 1869. However, what is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, what does life look like for someone with ALS , and what research is being done for a cure?
a) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious debilitating disease with poor life expectancy of typically only 3-4 years from onset. Patients with ALS become rapidly and severely disabled losing the strength in their arms and legs and eventually lose the ability to speak. As these patients are clearly highly vulnerable, there are a number of study design and treatment aspects that a HREC would be concerned about. These are discussed below:
A distinctive characteristic of ALS is that although the motor neurons die, the brain, cognitive functions and sensory neurons stay intact (Porth & Matfin, 2009). This makes the disease especially devastating because patients become trapped inside their dying body, with a fully alert mind, but are unable to move. It is not known what causes the exact death of the motor neurons in the body, but “five percent to 10% of cases are familial; the others are believed to be sporadic” (Porth & Matfin, 2009, p.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. ALS causes muscle weakness and impacts physical functions this occurs in the nervous system. In the nervous system motor neurons of the body are being affected. Usually, ALS causes weakness and paralysis in the muscles. The muscles slowly waste away and a person’s legs and arms become much weaker. In some cases there may be muscle spasms, weight loss, and difficulty in breathing, eating, and swallowing. The mind does not get affected and there is no loss of sensation, or sense of touch during ALS. The average for a person with ALS is about two to five years from the time diagnosis. In some cases people can live with the disease for five years and more. ALS is mostly being develop between the ages of 40 and 70. Athletes usually get diagnosed between 30 and 34. It shows that athletes have had multiple head trauma and they also have abnormal