...Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease Frederick Aladad Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that portrays progressive muscle paralysis, and eventually ends with death. As many as twenty thousand to thirty thousand people in the United States have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and an estimated five thousand people in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year (Shiel, 2012). The etiology of the disease is unknown, but it plays a genetic factor. Less than ten percent has been shown to be inherited in families. ALS begins with the client with muscle weakness, stiffness, eventually to paralysis, then death caused by respiratory failure. Dysphagia occurs at onset in about one third of case, although generally it occurs in later stage of the disease (Noh, 2010). The nursing diagnosis is risk for aspiration related to impaired swallowing. Intervention for the diagnosis includes positioning the client in a 90 degree angle while in bed, a wheel chair or a chair. There is no known cure for the disease, but symptoms can be treated. Riluzole is administered to slow the progression of the disease. Pathophysiology Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that begins with rapid, progressive muscle weakness. It attacks the neurons that are responsible for moving voluntary muscles. Once the person is diagnosed with the disease...
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...LS Lou Gehrig’s Disease Samantha Candela Chamberlain College of Nursing NR 283 Professor Hommelson May 28, 2016 Lou Gehrig’s Disease Lou Gehrig’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is commonly known as ALS. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord (2016). The body’s motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord then to the muscles throughout the body. In ALS the motor neurons slowly degenerate eventually leading to a person’s death. When the motor neurons die our brain loses the ability to initiate and control muscle movement. As the neurons die, a person’s body loses voluntary muscle action. This causes people to lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe. There are two different types of ALS, sporadic and familial. Sporadic is the most common form of the disease, with 90 – 95 percent of the cases (2016). Familial means the disease is inherited, accounting for 5 to 10 percent of the cases. According to The ALS Association a population study has show that a little over 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year (2016). 60% of the people with ALS are men and 93% are Caucasian. People usually develop ALS between the ages of 40 – 70, but has occurred when a person is in their twenties and thirties (2016). ALS is 20% more common in men than in women. Heredity is also a risk factor with 5 to 10 percent of people with ALS inheriting the disease (Mayo, 2014). A recent study...
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...“Lou Gehrig’s Disease” Sicknesses have been part of our daily lives for humanity, since time began. Everyday doctors and scientists are working to find new cures and treatments to help improve modern medicine. ALS-amyotropohic lateral sclerosis- is one of those puzzles that is in the process of being solved. According to “Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , in 1869, it was first discovered by Jean-Martin Charcot “the father of neurology”, but did not gain attention from the public eye until 1939, when a famous baseball player by the name of Lou Gehrig was diagnosed (par. 2). Lou Gehrig’s disease, otherwise known as ALS, is an extremely complex disease that breaks down the nervous system, symptoms of ALS are very difficult to discover, and this syndrome is fatal. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS is a complex disease that breaks down the nervous system. ALS Association Create A World Without ALS says that in a-myo-trophic, the “a” means no or negative, “myo” is talking about or referring to the muscle, “trophic” means nourishment, and when you combined the three parts it means no nourishment (par.1). Lateral is the area within the spine where the brain sends a message to the muscles telling them what to do. Sclerosis is hardening, when the disease starts to progress, the lateral areas in the spine will begin to harden and stop being able to receive and send messages. It is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons...
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...Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) Dustin M. Sumner ITT- Technical Institute of Technology Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. When muscle has no nourishment, it “atrophies” or wastes away. “Lateral” identifies the areas in a person’s 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. ALS is a disorder that affects the function of nerves and muscles. Based on U.S. population studies, a little over 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. (That’s 15 new cases a day.) It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time. According to the ALS Care Database, 60% of the people with ALS in the Database are men and 93% of patients in the Database are Caucasian. 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. Generally though, ALS occurs in greater percentages as men and women grow older. ALS is 20% more common in men than in women. There are several research studies – past and present –investigating possible risk factors that may be associated with ALS. More work is needed to conclusively...
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...Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Throughout our lives we learn and discover the world through our self-regulated abilities to ambulate, laugh, hug, consume, and even breath. Yet there is an aggressive disease known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that threatens to eliminate our most basic and human capabilities. Over the course of this research paper we will explore various aspects of ALS which include the historical context of ALS, symptoms or characteristics of the disease, causes of ALS on a cellular level, as well as diagnosis and management. In 1869 ALS was first acknowledged by a french neurologist named Jean-Martin Charcot a man historically renowned as the “founder of modern neurology”. However it wasn't until 1939 that...
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...Lou Gehrig’s disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS, is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks the nerve cells within the brain and spinal cord very quickly. This disease is named after Lou Gehrig, the famous baseball player, who suffered from it as well. Studies show that one can learn what Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is, understand how it affects the body, and gather the information about treatments to help with the symptoms of this disease. This disease causes weakness in the body and impairs physical function. While living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, the nerve cells that are in control of movement in muscles slowly die, so the muscles weaken and atrophy. Studies have revealed many causes such as chemical...
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...Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis There are many types of diseases that attack the muscles, and doctors are still discovering new ones each day. This year there has been a wide spread of different challenges going around. One of the challenges was the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, this challenged spreaded awareness of the muscle disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). ALS has often been referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. It is a progressive disease that affects the nerves in the brain and the spinal cord. The name of this muscle disease may sound really hard to understand, but really it is quite simple. Amyotrophic can be broken down into three parts and looked at separately. “A” means no, “myo” means muscle and “trophic” means nourishment. When these three are put together it means no muscle nourishment. When a muscle has no nourishment, it begins to waste away and become weak. The lateral in the name is stating the position of where the disease is located on the spine. Since it is later this would be the disease is found on the outer sides of the spinal cord. The sclerosis part of the name means the hardening of the muscle in that area. In the body there are motor neurons; which are located in the brain, brain stem, and spinal cord. These motor neurons are control units and communication links between the nervous system and the voluntary muscles in the body. The motor neurons in the brain send messages that are transmitted to motor neurons in the spinal...
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...brain and spinal cord abruptly start to die, the cells that control the muscles that allow you to move the different parts of your body abruptly start to die. This is what it feels like when your body is afflicted by a disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and was named after a famous athlete who was one of the first people to be afflicted. On Lou Gehrig’s 39th birthday, he was diagnosed, shortly after the illness became unbearable, the all star baseball player sadly had to retire from the sport. On July 4, 1939, athlete, Lou Gehrig, at Yankee Stadium-in front of all his fans-addressed his disease and retirement with a farewell speech. Gehrig’s purpose is to show the world how strong-willed and fearless an individual can be in the face of adversity. He adopts an optimistic tone in order to demonstrate his will power to his fans and anyone afflicted by ALS. Lou Gehrig, is positive with the other baseball players and his fans, Gehrig was able to utilize ethos effectively thoroughly in his speech. His ethical proof is important for the author among the audience; Gehrig was known as being determined and hard-working and his audience had already favored him. The first word in Gehrig’s speech is...
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...HCS245 TRACIE SHARP Disease in the new: Lou Gehrig's disease Due: Monday, October 1,2012 By: Gabrielle Reina Lou Gerhig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that affects the upper and lower neurons in the brain. This disease will lead to death and there is no known cure for it as of today. There are many treatment options for those who suffer with disease that may help in coping. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis had believed to be a disease that affected motor skills and to be a motor skills disorder but further testing on the disease have shown that disease also attacks the frontal and temporal regions on the brain and areas that do not affect the motor skills. ALS picked up the name Lou Gerhig’s disease after a very well known baseball player died from the disease after a seventeen year career. Along with there being no cure for the disease there has not been much to link the causes of the disease. When patients get a disease like cancer sometimes there are factors that show why and how they could have received this disease but with ALS there have been no shown reasons for why someone would get this disease. Most patients with ALS have no mental disability and fully understand that there is something no correct with how their body is acting. There are about fifteen new cases for Lou Gerhig’s disease a day. The symptoms associated with ALS are very wide ranged but the most common are muscle cramping, depression, and widespread pain...
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...Most patients with ALS—also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, for the famous baseball player who succumbed to the disease—are diagnosed after the age of 50 and die within five years of their diagnosis. Hawking's condition was first diagnosed when he was 21, and he was not expected to see his 25th birthday.Jan 7, 2012 Last year, British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking hinted at research he and a couple of colleagues were working on that could solve the infamous black hole information paradox, which states that information about matter that gets destroyed by a black hole, according to Einstein's general theory of relativity, is ...Jan 11, 2016 Hawking has a rare early-onset slow-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...
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...I have been tasked with writing a paper about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The ALS Association website has described ALS in a very clear and concise manner and I would like to share that with you know. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. "A" means no or negative. "Myo" refers to muscle, and "Trophic" means nourishment–"No muscle nourishment." When a muscle has no nourishment, it "atrophies" or wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the areas in a person's 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. As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing. When muscles...
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...Alzheimer's Disease ● Definition-Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that occurs when nerve cells in the brain die. ● Signs-Memory loss that affects job skills, difficulty performing familiar tasks, problems with language, disorientation to time and place, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking, misplacing things, changes in mood or behavior, changes in personality, loss of initiative. ● Treatment-specific treatment will be determined by the physician based on your age, health, and medical history, extent of disease, your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapy, expectations for the course of the disease, your opinion or preference and at this time there...
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...Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is often referred to as ALS or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. It is a progressive disease where the motor neurons degenerate and die. This causes the brain to not be able to start or control muscle movement. As the disease progresses, the patient becomes paralyzed. ALS is diagnosed through ruling out other diseases. There is no certain test to diagnose it. A patient might go through multiple testing; such as nerve conduction studies, EMG, labs, spinal tap, MRI, and muscle biopsy. A patient will also undergo a neurological exam based on their symptoms. To also be diagnosed, a patient must have symptoms of both the upper and lower motor neuron damage that can not be caused by something else. When a patient first gets ALS, the symptoms may be barely noticeable but as it gets worse then major symptoms show. One of the major symptoms is muscle weakness in either the hands, arms, legs, speaking, swallowing or breathing. There may be twitching or cramping of muscles. As it progresses, there will be shortness of breath. Most die with respiratory failure because the muscles in the diaphragm and chest wall fail. The prognosis for ALS is not good. Half of all people diagnosed live around 3 year after diagnosis. The average life expectancy is 2-5 years. Twenty percent of ALS patients live 5 years, ten percent will live 10 years. There is some evidence that patients are living longer due to medical management. Although there is...
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...On July 4, 1939, the fans for the New York Yankees watched Lou Gehrig deliver one of sport's historical moments by reading his speech as he was recently found to be diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). When Gehrig stood in front his large crowd, he did not once emphasizes on his dwelling on his diagnosis, instead, he displayed gratitude and thanks for his audience during his speech time. His speech firstly acknowledges the fans, shortly after emphasizes on him to be the luckiest man on earth. His speech eventually develops into series of structured thanks mentioned for those that supported him throughout his career (Teammates, New York Yankees association, New York Giants) which displays a strong case of Ethos. Also, simultaneously...
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...even tongue can be accomplished. Conversely, all sensation is intact so there remains a constant awareness of the appendages that cannot be controlled and the itch that cannot be scratched. Now imagine not being able to communicate these feelings because the ability to speak has also been affected. This is the life of a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and this late stage symptom is called “locked in”. The patient is conscious and aware of their surroundings, but cannot interact (Drury, May). Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream springs to mind at the incomprehensible mental anguish that must be suffered by patients with ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, named for the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 2011). ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks and destroys nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord, insidiously robbing the patient of their ability to move. ALS affects 1 to 3 people per 100,000 and roughly 10 percent of these cases are hereditary (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 2011). The average age of onset has historically been 55 for both men and women. That number has changed however, as a greater incidence of young, fit, and lean males afflicted with ALS has been reported. This was the case for Gary Temoyan (Drury, 2011). Gary Temoyan was a 37 year old Lower Marion, Pennsylvania motorcycle cop, husband...
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