Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Essay

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

“ 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

The article titled “The Voices of A.L.S. by Tara Parker-Pope has given me a better insight into A.L.S. In fact, it has made me more aware of it. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, affects parts of the nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement. Motor neurons, among the largest of all nerve cells, reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body. When these motor neurons die, the brain can no longer start and control muscle movement. At this time there is no cure for the disease; however, over the past few decades, we have made amazing strides in our understanding of the brain, the nervous system, and genetics. Discoveries in each of these areas bring

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Thesis: Weakness in the hands, arms, legs or slurred speech. Imagine having these symptoms and not knowing what is wrong. Then the most dreaded words are uttered, “You have Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or other wise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a disease that attacks muscles and brain cells. “ALS was first found in 1869 by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot,but it wasn’t until 1939 that Lou Gehrig brought national and international attention to the disease” (About).

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).

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

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.

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

I. Take a moment, and point at the computer screen. Notice that your index finger is extended and your other fingers are curled into your palm. How did your hand know to do that? It all began in your brain, the starting point for an important chain of communication. Your brain ordered nerve cells, to activate

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).

Often times, a person may have ALS and not even be aware of it. This is because some of the symptoms start out as very

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 is a rare disease that affects one's nervous system. It most commonly starts in the legs and works it way up, slowly paralyzing the victim; it will eventually reach the chest and stop victims the heart. When I was 3, my father was diagnosed with this disease; the doctors informed him that he had about a year to live, but this was not the only dreadful news they had to deliver. It has been noted that if a family has a history with ALS it is likely to be passed from generation to generation. Since my family has a strong history with the disease, it was soon discovered that I have an overwhelming chance of suffering an early death in the same fashion as my father. As I matured, I started to truly understand my possible fate; I quickly decided that out of respect for my father and myself, I would never let this hold me back from living my life to the absolute fullest.

The effects that ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) has on the human body at the cellular level are trademarks of the disease and can be attributed in a large part to genetic mutations causing these phenotypes. ALS is autosomal dominant, meaning that if one parent has a gene that causes ALS, there is a 50% chance that one of their offspring may also have one of the genes that causes ALS. Men are slightly more likely to get ALS at a younger age than women are at a younger age but this gap begins to dwindle as the ages of people with ALS increases. Despite the fact that many genes have been discovered that cause ALS, a large portion of genes and mutations have yet to be found. The two groups of ALS, familial and sporadic, both have genetics

Long before Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis was brought to the world’s spotlight by the ice bucket challenge, ALS had made an immense impact on my life. I was in seventh grade when my parents told me that my grandmother had been diagnosed with ALS. ALS is a rapidly progressive, unfailingly fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles, with a median survival of 3 years. Over the course of just a few months I witnessed this disease transform my energetic, independent grandmother into a shell of her former self. ALS leads to immobility, respiratory and muscular failure, which limits a person’s ability to experience life.