- ALS is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
- ALS causes muscles to get weaker and loss of muscle control as more nerve cells die.
- ALS often starts in the hands, feet, arms or legs; then spreads to other body parts.
BY: GUY JABBAR
What is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neurone disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons, or nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movements, like walking and talking.
Although this disease is very rare, 20,000 cases are discovered per year in the United States.
This motor disease causes both groups of motor neurons to gradually deteriorate and then die.
When this occurs, the motor neurons are then damaged, causing the stoppage of messages to be sent to your muscles. As a result, the muscles no longer function.
What causes Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?
According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), the exact causes of ALS remain unknown. ALS results in the death of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
It’s reported, there is an increased risk of ALS in military veterans. Although ALS can affect anyone, it is more common in whites, males, and people over 60 years of age.
What are Symptoms of ALS?
Symptoms of ALS vary from person to person. Usually, it often depends on which nerve cells are affected.
However, the symptoms generally begin with muscle weakness that spreads and gets worse over time. Symptoms might include:
- Trouble walking or doing usual daily activities.
- Tripping and falling.
- Weakness in the legs, feet or ankles.
- Hand weakness or clumsiness.
- Slurred speech or trouble swallowing.
- Weakness associated with muscle cramps and twitching in the arms, shoulders and tongue.
- Untimely crying, laughing or yawning.
- Thinking or behavioral changes.
ALS often starts in the hands, feet, arms or legs. Then it spreads to other parts of the body.
Patients who suffer from this neurodegenerative disease, will notice their muscles get weaker as more of their nerve cells die.
Eventually, the disease will affect their chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing, among other things.
There’s generally no pain in the early stages of ALS. Also, patients also concur that pain is not common in the later stages.
According to ALS cases, sufferers of this disease say it doesn’t usually affect their bladder control, senses, ability to taste, smell, touch and hear.
Bottom Line
ALS often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg, trouble swallowing or slurred speech. Eventually, ALS affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe.
Although this disease is rare and affects fewer than 20,000 people in the U.S. each year, medical experts have not yet discovered a cure for this fatal disease.
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