What is ALS?
ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease and also Motor Neuron Disease, is a neuro-degenerative disease that affects as many people as Multiple Sclerosis. Prognosis is 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis, although it varies from patient to patient.
The nerve receptors in the brain stop communicating and the muscles atrophy. The symptoms can be twitching of the muscles, inability to speak, paralysis of the limbs and other irreversible debilitation. Common threats to a patient include suffocation, choking and falling. There is no effective or proven treatment and there is no cure.
The toll the disease will take on a family, financially and emotionally, are horrible. The funding for ALS research and attempts at finding an effective treatment or cure are sorely inadequate compared to other diseases.
Many neurologists believe that if they could figure out ALS, they would be able to understand many other neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and Huntingtons.
Some people think that ALS is caused by a genetic pre-disposition with an environmental trigger. That theory and the many possibilities surrounding it give great merit to the fact that more awareness and education needs to be done. If the rate of incidence is in fact increasing rapidly, this could become a much bigger problem that we are prepared for.
ALS can strike anyone at any time, regardless of age, gender or behavior.
ALS is a scary disease that needs to be stopped. You can help by learning more. Research organizations need more funding to find treatments. Patients need better resources and assistance dealing with the ramifications of the disease. Families need to know that their stories are being told, that people can sympathize with what they experience.
For more information about ALS, please click here