Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Basic description:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.
ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or motor neurone disease in some British Commonwealth countries. It is a debilitating disease with rapidly progressive weakness, breaking down of the muscles, muscle spasticity, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, and decline in breathing ability. ALS is the most common of the five motor neuron diseases.
Symptoms:
Weakened muscles
Loss of voluntary control
Difficulty speaking
Difficulty swallowing
Muscle twitching, cramping or stiffness
Slurred, nasal or quiet speech
Overactive gag reflex
Pseudobulbar affect – uncontrollable laughter, crying or smiling.
Causes:
In 95% of cases no family history of the disease is present. There is no known cause for ALS. Potential causes include head trauma, military service, chemical exposure, electromagnetic field exposure, occupation, physical trauma, electric shock and participation in contact sports. In 5% of cases it is hereditary. There are at least 3 different inheritance patterns for familial ALS. The most common inheritance being autosomal dominant. Autosomal means that either female or male could inherit the gene mutation for ALS because the gene is located on a numbered chromosome that both males and females have. Dominant refers to the fact that a person only needs one gene to have a mutationcoding for ALS. So someone who has familial ALS would have one gene with a mutation and one gene without a mutation.
Treatment:
There is no know cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The first drug treatment for the disease is a medicine called Riluzole. This slows the disease progression and prolongs life.
There are some treatments to control the symptoms:
Baclofen or diazepam may be used to control spasticity that interferes with daily
Basic description:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.
ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or motor neurone disease in some British Commonwealth countries. It is a debilitating disease with rapidly progressive weakness, breaking down of the muscles, muscle spasticity, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, and decline in breathing ability. ALS is the most common of the five motor neuron diseases.
Symptoms:
Weakened muscles
Loss of voluntary control
Difficulty speaking
Difficulty swallowing
Muscle twitching, cramping or stiffness
Slurred, nasal or quiet speech
Overactive gag reflex
Pseudobulbar affect – uncontrollable laughter, crying or smiling.
Causes:
In 95% of cases no family history of the disease is present. There is no known cause for ALS. Potential causes include head trauma, military service, chemical exposure, electromagnetic field exposure, occupation, physical trauma, electric shock and participation in contact sports. In 5% of cases it is hereditary. There are at least 3 different inheritance patterns for familial ALS. The most common inheritance being autosomal dominant. Autosomal means that either female or male could inherit the gene mutation for ALS because the gene is located on a numbered chromosome that both males and females have. Dominant refers to the fact that a person only needs one gene to have a mutationcoding for ALS. So someone who has familial ALS would have one gene with a mutation and one gene without a mutation.
Treatment:
There is no know cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The first drug treatment for the disease is a medicine called Riluzole. This slows the disease progression and prolongs life.
There are some treatments to control the symptoms:
Baclofen or diazepam may be used to control spasticity that interferes with daily