Symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Medical history has been filled with an array of affections and illnesses, ranging from the greenness cold to deadly killers. Some are easily treatable and others can be terminal, but some of the worst are those that still remain without a cure one such disease is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a degenerative disease affecting the human nervous system. It is a deadly disease that cripples and kills its victims due to a break garbage down in the bodys aim neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells in the brainstem and spinal electric cord that control muscle contractions. In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, these neurons deteriorate to a point that on the whole movement, including breathing, halts. Muscle weakness first develops in the muscles of body parts far from the brain, such as the hands, and subsequently spreads through other muscle groups enveloping(prenominal) to the brain. Such early symptoms as this, howev er, can hardly be noticed. aboriginal symptoms of ALS are very slight and often overlooked. They begin as simple things, such as tripping or dropping things. jerk or cramping of muscles and abnormal fatigue of the arms and legs may soon follow, causing encumbrance in daily activities, such as walking or dressing. In more advanced stages, however, shortness of breath or trickyy in breathing and swallowing ensue, until the body is completely taken over by the disease. Intellect, eye motion, bladder function, and sensation are the entirely abilities spared.Where and how this deadly disease originated is un cognise, but it was first identified in 1869, by the noted French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. ALS is not contagious, but research is still dimmed on the cause of the disease. Today, on that point are three recognized forms of ALS genetic, sporadic, and Guamanian.The genetic form of ALS appears to be inherited or passed down within a family, and just more or less ten perc ent of ALS patients stimulate a family history of the disease. An abnormal gene has been located in about half these families, but the cause of the remaining half is still unknown. The next, nigh common form, is sporadic ALS. These patients countenance no family history of disease, and the cause of their advent down with ALS is a mystery. Finally, is Guamanian ALS, called this because a high percentage of cases hap in the Pacific Islands near Guam.One major reason ALS is such a frightening disease is because no cure has been established. Although no effective treatment has been developed, a number of drug trials have been conducted, and there are some devices designed to help ALS patients maintain emancipation as well as safety as the disease progresses. These devices embroil ankle or foot braces, cervical collars, and reclining chairs. Since there is no cure, however, the patriarchal treatment is for management of symptoms.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is also a difficult disease to diagnose, primarily because no one test can emphatically establish if the disease is present. A diagnosis includes most, if not all, of the following procedures electrodiagnostic tests, blood line and urinary study, thyroid and parathyroid hormone levels, spinal tap and imaging, and potent or nerve biopsy.Most who develop ALS are among the ages of forty and seventy years of age, although cases have been reported of victims in their twenties and thirties. It was once thought to be a rare disease, but studies have shown that about 5,000 people in the United States are newly-diagnosed with ALS from each one yearabout 13 new cases a day It isn estimated that about 100,000 people who are apparently well in the country forthwith will die with ALS.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is also popularly known as Lou Gehrig disease. Lou Gehrig was a famous baseball player in the 1930s for the invigorated York Yankees. Once known as baseballs Ironman, Lou Gehrig was truly a sports l egend. His undimmed career came to a screeching halt, however, when he was diagnosed with ALS. The disease not only took away his career in baseball, but his life Lou Gehrig died at the boylike age of thirty-eight.In conclusion, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a deadly and frightening disease its victims cannot be saved. Someday, hopefully, a cure will be developed, and the scummy this disease is causing will be stopped.