Research Paper
According to www.medterms.com , ALS is defined as “a classic motor neuron disease. Motor neuron diseases are progressive chronic diseases of the nerves that come from the spinal cord responsible for supplying electrical stimulation to the muscles. This stimulation is necessary for the movement of body parts.” “1 out of 10 cases are a genetic defect” (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis- National Library of Medicine, 2012). The other nine times, the cause of cannot be determined.
As stated by the A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia, “ALS affects approximately 5 out of every 100,000 people worldwide” (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis- National Library of Medicine, 2012). ALS is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is often called Lou Gehrig’s disease. The name derived from the famous New York Yankees player, Lou Gehrig, who lost his battle to ALS in 1941. Out of this tragedy came some light; ALS had the attention of the nation.
ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease attacks the muscles of the body. Typically, symptoms don’t usually begin until the age of 50 or older. However, it’s possible to show symptoms at a younger age. It is a disease that progresses extremely fast. Unfortunately as the disease progresses, loss of muscle strength get worse. The reduction of the muscle strength slowly gets worse until paralysis or death. The following are symptoms of ALS: muscle cramps, muscle weakness, difficulty with breathing and difficulty with swallowing. Other symptoms include slurring of words, hoarseness, and weight loss. ALS does not affect the five senses of the body. Eventually, Lou Gehrig’s Disease will prevent the body from doing everyday activities such as driving, climbing stairs, and eating.
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...s not given as an option and is necessary to be placed. This surgical procedure of placing a feeding tube is known as a gastrostomy. A surgery like this is very costly and ultimately add up to about $4,500. While struggling with ALS, it is recommended to have a personal nutritionist to have for assistance. This is mainly due to the fact that a very common side effect in all ALS patients is a drastic decrease in weight. Other symptoms can be tamed with treatments such as “Baclofen or Diazepam for spasticity that interferes. Trihexyphenidyl or Amitriptyline for people with problems swallowing their own saliva” (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis- National Library of Medicine, 2012). Patients may also consider a breathing machine for night time use. Complications of ALS include “aspiration” (WebMD- Lou Gehrig’s Disease), pneumonia, lung failure, and sever weight loss.
There is no cure for ALS at this time and treatment is focused on management of the symptoms, involving a combination of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech, respiratory, and nutritional therapies. Moderate exercise may help maintain muscle strength and function. Drugs can also treat excessive saliva and drooling, and speech therapy can help compensate for loss of muscular control of the mouth. As the disease progresses and muscular degeneration spreads throughout the body, various devices may provide support, such as ankle braces, neck collars, reclining chairs, wheelchairs, and hospital beds. Respiratory support and feeding tubes are required when the person loses cont...
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS, is a disease that can alter the daily life of a human in monumental and unending ways. In one of her articles about ALS, Caroline Ingre (2015) states that the disease is a “fatal neurodegenerative disorder” and further supports this by noting how the disease is marked by the degeneration in motor neurons in the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord (p. 181). This basically means that
According to ALS Association (2016, para. 1), “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 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis eventually leads to their demise.” When our motor neurons die, our brain can no longer control our muscle movement. The survival time for a person living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is up to ten years because eventually a person’s body will shut down completely. According to the Mayo Clinic (2016, para. 2), “As the disease advances and nerve cells are destroyed, your muscles progressively weaken. This eventually affects chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing.” This disease is very scary to live with because you eventually die from
As motor neurons degenerate, this obviously means they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that otherwise 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 no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (become smaller). Limbs begin to look thinner as muscle tissue atrophies (Choi, 1988).
performance that involves, but is not limited to, a loss in at least 2 of the
A piece of well-oiled machinery consists of an intricate and complex system: there are well-organized processes, mechanisms within the device work efficiently, and multiple processes function simultaneously to subsequently perform various functions. What happens when there is a glitch in the machine? When there is something wrong, such as connections between intricate processes, which do not follow through, the machine fails to function properly. In some cases, there are not any adjustment or fallback mechanisms. At that point, the damage can be irreversible and the machinery is no longer salvageable. [However, this can illustrate the interactions and processes within the complex machinery.]
Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.
Early symptoms of ALS are very slight and often overlooked. They begin as simple things, such as tripping or dropping things. Twitching or cramping of muscles and abnormal fatigue of the arms and legs may soon follow, causing difficulty in daily activities, such as walking or dressing. In more advanced stages, however, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing and swallowing ensue, until the body is completely taken over by the disease. Intellect, eye motion, bladder function, and sensation are the only abilities spared.
The overview definition of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is defined in the Medical Dictionary for Allied Health as a “progressive degenerative disease of the lateral columns of the spinal cord leading to weakness paralysis and death (Breskin, 2008).” This definition is brief but by looking at this one helps to better define the disease, which follows. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig disease the progressive destruction is of the motor neuron this results in muscular atrophy. The nerve cells effected are from the brain to the spinal cord and the spinal cord to the peripheral these are the nerves that control muscle movement. ALS affects muscles that are controlled by conscious thought, this includes arms, legs, and trunk muscles. ALS leaves sensation, thought processes, the heart muscle, digestive system, bladder, and other internal organs unaffected.
In this day and age, it seems as though almost everyone has experience a loved one taken away form a very serious disease known as Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is unbelievably devastating for everyone affected by it. This disease is causing major economical problems such as less occupancy in the nursing homes, and hospitals due to the rising population of elderly men and women being diagnosed with it everyday. Because there is not yet a cure for this disease and the percent of the population being diagnosed keeps rapidly rising, more time and money needs to go towards Alzheimer’s research.
Alzheimer's Disease Introduction to Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain. It was first described by the German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915). in 1905. This disease worsens with advancing age, although there is no evidence. that it is caused by the aging process.
Alzheimer’s disease, named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, is a disease that is on the rise in America and the rest of the world. People should learn as much as they want about this disease, because as you age, your chances of becoming an Alzheimer’s Disease, or AD, patient increases. It is estimated that approximately 3 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have the illness, and more than half of all people over age 85 have the ailment.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ASL), Lou Gehrig’s disease, a brutal, unforgiving illness of the neurological system with no known cure.
Alzheimer’s disease or AD is an incurable disorder of the brain that results in loss of normal brain structure and function. In an AD brain, normal brain tissue is slowly replaced by structures called plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The plaques represent a naturally occurring sticky protein called beta amyloid and in an Alzheimer’s brain, sufferer’s tend to accumulate too much of this protein. Neurofibrillary tangles represent collapsed tau proteins which, in a normal brain along with microtubules, form a skeleton that maintains the shape of the nerve cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, the tau proteins break loose from their normal location and form tangles. Without the support of these molecules, nerve cells collapse and die. As normal brain structure is lost with progression of the disease, brain function also degenerates. Patients afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease display a gradual mental decline. Initially, and most apparently, there is a loss of short-term memory. Eventually, as a patient progresses to later stages of the disease, the brain becomes so damaged that patients can no longer communicate or recognize immediate family or even themselves. They have difficulty walking and standing and frequently fall. In the final stages, they lose bladder and bowel control and have difficulty with swallowing, frequently leaving them malnourished and dehydrated. Eventually, they are forced to remain bedridden and, without the help of life-prolonging measures provided in a hospital, die. However, this level of deterioration is severe and may take as long as twenty years. Because of the disease’s slow progress and its usual later start in a person’s life, a victim of AD will usually die first of natural causes. Under the objectives ...
This is a neurodegenerative disease, meaning it results in progressive loss or death of neurons. It often starts off with effecting simple motor skills like writing and holding things, after a few months usually patients start losing the ability to walk, talk, or move any of their limbs. Although the brain trauma is what causes it, ALS has little-no-effect on the brain. This fatal disease is typically diagnosed around age 60 and most patients are given about 3-5 years to live after being diagnosed. It has been found that 10% of cases are shown as genetic. It was brought to attention that athletes were beginning to get diagnosed with ALS at a younger age than most. After extensive research in the early 2000’s, Brain Analyst, Dr. Mckee ran tests and finally came to the conclusion that the toxic proteins in the brains of ALS patients were coming from repeated blows to the head. It was then made evident why so many athletes in contact sports such as football, soccer, boxing, etc… were being diagnosed at such a young age and more frequently than