Lou Gehrig's Disease

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Biology 277 Lou Gehrig’s disease Lou Gehrig’s disease also known as ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control the voluntary muscle movement. A fairly unknown disease until a very famous baseball player, Lou Gehrig, was diagnosed with this debilitating disease. (www.pubmedhealth.gov; National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) “In ALS nerve cells (neurons) waste away or die, and can no longer send messages to muscles (PubMed Health).” This leads to muscle twitching, weakening, and eventually to the non-ability to move the arms, legs, and body. ALS affects approximately 5 out of every 100,000 people (www.pubmedhealth.gov; National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health). Doctors and researchers have found no known risk factors for this disease. It has been linked through heredity to family members that have had some form of the disease. Symptoms of ALS do not usually develop until after age 50 (www.mayoclinic.com). ALS sufferers have a loss of strength and coordination to do the simple everyday tasks such as walking stairs or simply swallowing (www.pubmedhealth.gov; National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health). ALS does not affect the senses, but normally breathing or swallowing are the first symptoms to become prevalent. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, swallowing, head drop due to muscle weakness, muscle cramps, muscle contractions called fasciculation’s, speech difficulty, voice changes, and weight loss. Treatments for ALS involve drug therapy, physical therapy, braces and other orthopedic measures. Nutrition plays a role in the treatment of ALS also, because patients with ALS tend to lose weight rapidly. ALS is a progressive disease that can be slowed down with the use of drug treatment called riluzole (www.mayoclinic.com).

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