Case Study: A thirty six year old male has developed severe muscle weakness throughout the body. The condition began fifteen months ago with a left foot drop and within a year, he described difficulty with speech and swallowing, muscle twitching and cramping, and muscular atrophy throughout the upper and lower limbs. Within the last two months, his breathing has become more difficult, and there has been a noticeable difference in his voice. Prior to the fifteen months, he presented little to no symptoms. The patient, a medical doctor, has a wife and two young children. What began as seemingly innocent muscle weakness and cramping has lead to this patient’s fatal diagnosis. He is one of 2.5 per 100,000 people worldwide who have been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and will mostly likely die of respiratory failure within 2 to 3 years. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS is a is a highly degenerative disease involving the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary movement. The disease is sometimes referred to as Lou Gehrig’s after the New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in 1939. The disease causes degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. These neurons connect the brainstem and spinal cord to muscle fibers and send electric impulses to the muscles. Without proper communication, the muscles begin to weaken and atrophy. Individuals with ALS will lose their ability for voluntary muscular control. Usually, bladder and bowel control are spared, though this is not always the case. Cognitive functions and sensory nerves are also typically spared, but the affected individuals may present symptoms of dementia. Initial symptoms generally include muscular weak... ... middle of paper ... ...ological degeneration could happen in such a swift manner. I only hope that a better understanding of the causes of ALS can help find a cure. Works Cited ALSInfo: Lou Gherig’s Disease (ALS) [Internet]. 2011. Sanofi aventis US LLC; [last updated 2011 November 8; cited 2012 March 22]. Available from http://www.alsinfo.com/ Hayes SM. 2001. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Update on Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Management. In: Riolo L, editor. Topics in Physical Therapy: Neurology. American Physical Therapy Association. Lesson 9. McKinley MP, O'Loughlin VD. 2006. Nervous System Disorders. In: Wheatley CH, editor. Human anatomy. 2nd ed. Boston (MA): McGraw-Hill Higher Education. p 431. Umphred DA. 2001. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In: Allen A, Zipperlen R, editors. Neurological rehabilitation. 4th ed. St. Louis (MO): Mosby. p 363-385.
Imagine if you loss control of your body but your mind stayed unaffected. You would be a prisoner in your own body, all leading up to your death sentence. That is the sad fate for the people diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder was first described by Ran in 1850. This description was then expanded in 1873 by Charcot, who emphasized the involvement of the corticospinal tracts. In the United States, ALS is often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famous ball player who was stricken by the disease in the midst of his career. (Yale School of Medicine, 2014)” In this paper will go through the definition, the process, the signs, the risk factors, etiology, and discus the known people that have suffered with this terminal disease.
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 is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis was not brought to International or national attention until Famous New York Yankees baseball player, Lou Gehrig, was diagnosed with it in 1939. Jon Stone, the writer and creator of Sesame Street, was also diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is very deadly and it physically handicaps a person as it progresses. There are two types of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Sporadic and Familial. Sporadic is the most common cause in some cases and Familial is inherited, which is rare. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is one of the most aggressive muscular atrophy disorders, it has many signs and symptoms, and it can be treated but cannot be cured.
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).
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.
…progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to [the patients] death (Alsa.org, 2014).
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.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS, is a disease of the nervous system that controls muscle movement. With ALS, your motor neurons (cells that control muscle cells) are lost. As these are lost, the muscles become weak and eventually will quit working all together.
ALS is a degeneration of motor neurons that move from the brain and down the
Often many people think during the hard times life is bad, but they never know what someone else is going through. Lou Gehrig, who had an awful disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis aka ALS, wrote a speech about his disease. ALS is a devastating motor neuron disease, which even with the treatment is painful to the patient. First, what is ALS? Second, what causes ALS? Next, what are the symptoms? Further next, how does a person get diagnosed and how does it progress? And finally, what is the treatment for ALS?
Throughout generations, many people died of unexpected deaths with no explanation as to what caused their deaths. Over the years, researchers have studied that there are various diseases that might have explained how these people died. The question is what are these diseases? What do they do to one’s body? ALS and CTE’s are two of the most well known diseases that somehow caused these unexpected deaths. ALS and CTE’s are horrific diseases that causes the whole body to shut down except for the brain. For example, if a person has either one of these diseases, they are unable to pick up a spoon, tie a shoe, chew gum, or even lift a finger. However, their minds remain intact, meaning they still know what is going on in their surroundings. ALS and
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ASL), Lou Gehrig’s disease, a brutal, unforgiving illness of the neurological system with no known cure.
disease that Stephen Hawking has) 5 years ago. This is a condition that destroys motor nerves, making control of movement impossible, while the mind is virtually unaffected. People with motor neurone disease normally die within 4 years of diagnosis from suffocation due to the inability of the inspiratory muscles to contract. The woman's condition has steadily declined. She is not expected to live through the month, and is worried about the pain that she will face in her final hours. She asks her doctor to give her diamorphine for pain if she begins to suffocate or choke. This will lessen her pain, but it will also hasten her death. About a week later, she falls very ill, and is having trouble breathing.
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
Talbot, K., Turner, M. R., Marsden, R. and Botell, R. (2010) Motor Neuron Disease a practical manual, first edition, Oxford University Press