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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research paper
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research paper
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research paper
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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, specifically the motor neurons. Motor neurons carry signals from the brain and spinal cord to all of the muscles in your body. When a person has ALS, they are not able to generate enough motor neurons, and the brain cannot then initiate and control muscle movement. After some time, when the disease gets progressively worse, the patient has difficulty speaking, swallowing, breathing, etc. These kinds of tasks are essential to the body, so when it gets to a certain point, the patient dies. There are several other names for this disease, such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Diagnosis
Signs and Symptoms
The earliest symptoms of ALS are weakness of the muscles, which is to be expected. These types of symptoms can involve having trouble swallowing, cramping, or stiffness of certain muscles. As the disease progresses, patients lose the ability to control all voluntary movements. Generally, sensory nerves and the autonomic nervous system are unaffected, meaning that individuals with ALS can hear, see, touch, smell, and taste properly. The types of muscles you are able to control by the early symptoms, all depends on which motor neurons are damaged first. The most common motor neurons that get damaged early on are the ones called “limb onset,” which have to do with the arms and legs. As expected, people with “limb onset” experience trouble when walking and running, such as stumbling, tripping, or dragging of the foot. Other types of “onsets” that ALS patients might experience, is “bulbar onset” and “respiratory onset.” Bulbar onset ALS patients have a difficulty time speak...
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...he National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The research is being done in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health. The purpose of this research is to find the cause or causes of ALS, understand the mechanisms involved in the progression of the disease, and develop effective treatments. Other research is being done by scientists to create biomarkers for ALS that could serve as tools for making a diagnosis. These biomarkers could potentially be taken from spinal fluid, the brain or spinal cord, or an electrophysiological measure of nerve and muscle ability to process an electrical signal.
Works Cited
http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyotrophic_lateral_sclerosis http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/amyotrophiclateralsclerosis/detail_ALS.htm
http://www.alsa.org/about-als/diagnosing-als.html
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...
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
Lou Gehrig's disease is often referred to as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), this is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons come from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the entire body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS would eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is also lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, for this reason patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed (Choi, 1988).
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.
ALS is a degeneration of motor neurons that move from the brain and down the
In this essay, the disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) will be reviewed. This piece of work will lay emphasis on the pathophysiological, psychosocial, economic and cognitive effects it has on the individual, family and society. It will also make mention of how a professional nurse would support the individual, the family/carer, the nursing process and the professional role of the nurse according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) code of conduct which sets a standard for all nurses and midwives (NMC, 2008) . It has been chosen because this chronic disorder is quite prevalent in the UK.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a degenerative disease affecting the human nervous system. It is a deadly disease that cripples and kills its victims due to a breakdown in the body’s motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells in the brainstem and spinal cord that control muscle contractions. In ALS, these neurons deteriorate to a point that all movement, including breathing, halts. Muscle weakness first develops in the muscles of body parts distant from the brain, such as the hands, and subsequently spreads through other muscle groups closer to the brain. Such early symptoms as this, however, can hardly be noticed.
Multiple sclerosis was first discovered in 1868 by a neurologist by the name of Jean Martin- Charcot. Multiple sclerosis receives its name from the distinctive areas of scar tissue with the formation of damaged myelin sheaths. Multiple Sclerosis is referred to as an immune- mediated response that targets the central nervous system, including the spinal cord, the brain, and other parts of the body. The central nervous system is usually targeted by an abnormal response to the human body’s immune system causing an attack on the myelin coated fibers around nerve fibers. Generally, this occurs due to inflammation of myelin in the brain, causing lesions or plaques to form. Since myelin sheaths in the nervous system are there to increase nerve impulses,
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.
(1) One third of a million Americans suffer from MS and a great percentage of those people are women. Women account for 73% of MS sufferers. (2) MS usually strikes young adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. (8) There are even some cases of MS being diagnosed in childhood.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ASL), Lou Gehrig’s disease, a brutal, unforgiving illness of the neurological system with no known cure.
ALS is a disease of the nervous system. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis can be directly translated to mean muscle wasting. Only 10% of cases can be traced to familial causes, the other 90% of cases are completely random. Only six to eight of every 100,000 people are diagnosed with ALS, making it a rare disease. ALS is a degenerative disease that affects the motor neurons of the in the cerebral cortex and the motor neurons in the brain stem and spinal cord. The loss of these neurons is progressive and asymmetrical, there is no remission, and the muscle weakness will get to the respiratory system and affect breathing ability eventually (Gould & Dyer, 2011).
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disease. The Central Nervous System (CNS) is attacked by the immune system; creating lesions that interrupt the correct signaling of nerves, spinal cord, and brain (Frankel, & James, 2011). Inhibiting development of this disease is crucial for maintaining quality of life and fatigue for individuals with MS. There has been vast amount of research on the effect of various exercise training programs, and their benefits for MS (Motl, & Gosney, 2008, Krupp, 2003, Chen, Fan, Hu, Yang, & Li, 2013). Balance, aerobic, and strength training have been the main focus of most researchers; causing an interest in what training mode is most effective for improving quality of life and lower fatigue. It is critical to examine and contrast the effectiveness of a variety of exercise programs, because if training is completed effectively it can drastically improve quality of life and fatigue for individuals with MS.
With motor neurone disease it attacks the nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages gradually stop reaching muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting. In the case study the
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