...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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...Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS is a disease that weakens muscles and affects the physical functions of someone’s body. Researchers are not sure what the cause of ALS is. Scientists think that the causes of ALS are when the immune system starts killing some of the proteins our bodies make. When the proteins in our bodies are uneven or not operating correctly this causes them to become too big or small or to die. Other researchers think that ALS can be inherited. There are many different symptoms of ALS. The most noticed symptom of ALS victims is muscle weakness. But other symptoms include not being able to lift light items such as a cup of tea or a pen. Another common symptom is the way words are spoken may sound different or slurred....
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...Imagine that your nerve cells in your 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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...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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...Amanda Hernandez Mrs. Blevens CSU Expository Reading and Writing September 23, 2014 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as “ALS”, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS is a terminal disease that has no cure what-so-ever. Toxic proteins leak from the brain into the spinal cord. Motor neurons in ALS is what causes a person to die. The motor neurons in ALS is what initiates a person’s muscles to function, but with ALS the muscles weaken and eventually stop working and finally the patient becomes paralyzed. Also a person’s speech starts to slur and eventually end up losing their ability to talk. Recent medical research has discovered that athletes are getting ALS at a younger age due to head injuries and concussions from teen years and younger. For an average person, the diagnosis age is from age 50 to 70 years old. For athletes, the diagnosis age is mid 30’s. It is also more common for men because men continue playing sports after high school. Multiple concussions and hits to the head can lead to CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Another discovery is that ALS is a genetic disease. Memory loss, appears as well. CTE’s cause dementia in athletes due to repeated hits in the head. Concussions are a major part in ALS and...
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...Clinical subjective, objective signs and symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis are: difficulty walking or tripping; weakness in the leg, feet, or ankle; hand weakness or clumsiness; slurring of speech; muscle cramps or spasticity in the arms, shoulders, and tongue; difficulty holding the head up or keeping a good posture. This ailment usually begins in the hands, feet, or limbs, and then spreads to the rest of the body; as the disease advances, the muscles become weaker. Correspondingly, physicians typically diagnosis ALS based primarily on the symptoms and signs they observe in the patient along with a series of tests to rule out other possible explanations. Physicians will obtain the individual’s full medical history and generally conduct...
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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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...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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...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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...Throughout history there have been an array of diseases and illnesses, everything from the common cold to epidemics that have decimated populations. Medical Science has progressed to the point that many diseases are now treatable, curable, or even extinct. Yet even with this incredible progress there are still many diseases that remain not only without a cure, but without even effective treatments. One of these diseases is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease as it is commonly known, is a degenerative disease affecting the nervous system and the only outcome is death. Let’s take a look at the symptoms and how the effect they have on ALS patients. The early symptoms are slight and hardly noticed, they are easy for victim’s to ignore and even easier for physician’s to misdiagnosis. Early symptoms include muscle weakness, fatigue, and a heavy or numb feeling in the arms and legs. These symptoms begin slowly as simply dropping things or tripping frequently. Then the symptoms begin to cause a lot more problems that are much more difficult to ignore. Patients begin having trouble with things we do every day without really even having to think much about them. As this disease progresses into the more advanced stages victims experience difficulty with swallowing, breathing will become difficult and leave the patient at high risk for pneumonia and they lose the ability to speak. The only abilities spared by this devasting disease are brain function, eye...
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...There are many people who could be nominated for their artistic contributions, advances in technology, medical contributions and scientific advances. But one person sticks out in my mind as a genius of the Western culture. Through his disability I believe Stephen Hawking has stood out as a genius of our Western culture. Even with being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, he has provided ground breaking work in cosmology and physics. He has written several different books to allow science more attainable to the average person. Stephen Hawking was the oldest of four children, born to Frank and Isobel Hawking on the 8th of January, 1942 in Oxford England. He was born on the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo. This has been a large source of pride for Hawking. He was born into a smart family his mother was one of the first female students at Oxford University. His father was also a graduate of Oxford, being a well known researcher of medicine, his specialty in tropical diseases. The birth of Stephen came at a bad time to his parents, for they had little money and was during World War II. Stephen’s father was hoping he would follow his steps and research medicine, but from an early age Stephen showed more interest in the sky and science. In his early academic life, Stephen was seen as a bright child but was not an exceptional student. He was more interested in things outside of school. He enjoyed board games and even constructed a computer out of recycled...
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...Alzheimer’s affects the older generation with a gradual increase of symptoms, while ALS (Lou Gehrings Disease) usually affects adults between the ages of 40-60. In this paper you will learn information regarding the statistics, treatments, and survival rates of each of these chronic diseases. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis better known as ALS, I a serious neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, disability, and eventually death. Worldwide ALS occurs in 1 to 3 people per 100,000. In the vast majority of cases -90 to 95 percent- doctors don’t know yet why ALS occurs. About 5 to 10 percent of all ALS cases are inherited. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. It is the most common cause of dementia –a group of brain disorders that result in the loss of intellectual and social skills. These changes are sever enough to interfere with day to day life. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer’s are both neurological diseases that affect different parts of the body. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis affects the limbs, while Alzheimer’s affects are in the brain. Initial symptoms of ALS are obvious muscle weakness usually in the foot, leg, or arm, slurred speech, or trouble swallowing. These symptoms can be seen at the onset of ALS, whereas symptoms of Alzheimer’s often go unrecognized and undiagnosed in the early stages, because the first symptoms...
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...One way, out of several, that I received the news by way of mass media was through the social media web site “Facebook.” From this particular site, I was, like so many other people locally and nationwide, learned about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or as it is commonly known as, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. I saw what has become viral around the nation and world, hundreds upon hundreds of people, ranging from my family, peers, or some type of celebrity, doing what we now refer to as the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.” Although I did see the countless number of individuals getting “called out” by another individual or group and them doing the same, and thereby causing them to dump a bucket of ice on their head to raise awareness for ALS, I also saw a number of people donate to research for the ALS foundation as well. From this stemmed a wide array of information about what ALS actually is other than people dumping ice cold water on their heads. There were several major news stations either posting or reposting on the site as to the amount of money raised for the ALS foundation and these ranged from FOX News, to CNN to The Wall Street Journal and even the spoof articles of The Onion. That being said, I was able to view interviews with those who had ALS or the family members who had been affected by the condition. I could also listen to or view podcasts from radio hosts such as Dave Ramsey. Though I was viewing all of these different news and media information, I was doing so through...
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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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...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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