I was nominated for the ice bucket challenge. I decided to find out what ALS is instead. For those who care... WHAT IS ALS ALS = Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Often referred to as Lou Gehrigs Disease It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. A means no or negative. Myo refers to muscle. Trophic means nourishment No muscle nourishment. When a muscle has no nourishment it wastes away. Lateral identifies the areas in a persons spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening (sclerosis) in the region. The nerves that are affected when you have ALS are the motor neurons that provide voluntary movements and muscle power. Examples of voluntary movements are: Making the effort to reach for the phone, Step off a curb.. ALS may eventually have an impact on breathing. The cause is not completely understood. There is no cure to halt or reverse the disease. There is only one FDA approved drug that modestly slows its progression. There are significant devices and therapies that can manage the symptoms of ALS that help people maintain as much independence as possible and prolong survival. ALS is a quite variable disease; no two people will have the same journey or experiences. FACTS ALS is not contagious. It is estimated that ALS is responsible for nearly two deaths per hundred thousand population annually. Approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. (15 cases per day) The incidence of ALS is two per 100,000 people, and it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may have the disease at any given time. Although the life expectancy of an ALS patient averages about two to five years from the time of diagnosis, this disease is variable and many people live with quality for five years and more. More than half of all patients live more than three years after diagnosis. About twenty percent of people with ALS live five years or more and up to ten percent will survive more than ten years and five percent will live 20 years. There are people in whom ALS has stopped progressing and a small number of people in whom the symptoms of ALS reversed. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries. ALS can strike anyone. The onset of ALS is insidious with muscle weakness or stiffness as early symptoms. Progression of weakness, wasting and paralysis of the muscles of the limbs and trunk as well as those that control vital functions such as speech, swallowing and later breathing generally follows. Most people who develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age of 55 at the time of diagnosis. However, cases of the disease do occur in persons in their twenties and thirties. More info: alsa.org/about-als/
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 01:09:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015