Pre-AP English 2
Karmyn Pearn
10/26/14
5th
ALS
I’m trapped. I’m screaming but nobody seems to hear me. I can’t move. It sounds like a horror movie. It’s not. It’s ALS-Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Also known as Lou Gehrigs disease. It is a fatal neurological disease that is rapidly progressive and starts from their legs and feet and works its way up their body.
ALS is a degeneration of motor neurons that move from the brain and down the spinal cord and to all the muscles in the body.
More than 12,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with
ALS. ALS strikes the ages varying between 20 and 80, although rarely, younger people have been known to get it. There is no specific race or ethnic background that ALS affects. However, it is most commonly seen in white males
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Nobody completely knows the cause of this deadly disease. There have been cases of ALS linked with the mutation in the gene that produces SOD1 enzymes, but we really don’t know why it targets some people and not others.
A person with ALS may start to notice tight, stiff muscles with lots of cramps, weakness or clumsiness. They may have difficulty with everyday activities such as writing, buttoning a shirt, or walking. Symptoms may quickly progress to being wheelchair or bed bound. Although your body stops working, your senses are still intact.You can still think, hear, see and feel as you were always able to ,but you cannot make your body function. In the last stages of ALS you may lose the ability to communicate at all.
We have yet to find a cure, but they have found a drug that helps reduce the damage to motor neurons and can help prolong their survival by several months, but it does not repair damage that has already been done. The only other treatments available are to help with the symptoms like physical therapy, home health care, medicines to help muscle cramps and lung infections. Eventually patients will need machines to help them breathe, and tubes to give them
It is truly remarkable how Randy Pausch and Morrie Schwartz stories are so similar but yet so different. They both seem to have an outlook on life in a positive way, not sad or demeaning. The only crippling difference is the fact that Morrie was at the age that wasn’t abnormal to be sick and Randy was just dealt the cards for a short life. One of Professor Randy Pausch’s many quotes during The Last Lecture makes a similar point between his experience and Morrie’s when he says, “…it’s hard to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer – people who get it don’t live long enough.” ALS is such a rehabilitating disease that scientist have issues pinpointing the causes to even get close to a cure, which didn’t hinder either of their strive to keep going as far as they could.
amount of time depending on the severity and the frequency of the instances. If not
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).
Goldmann, David R., and David A. Horowitz. American College of Physicians Home Medical Guide to Parkinson's Disease. New York: Dorling Kindersley Pub., 2000. Print.
Although there is no cure for TSD, there are several revention methods for the disease, which gives hope to those who are carrier, but would like to bring a family into the world. Hopefully, further study and research of Tay-Sachs will lead to a cure one day, and TSD will no longer be a deadly factor for infants, and bring hope to their parents.
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.
Living in a country that is 77% white you are bound to experience it (qtd. In Quick Facts)
Retrieved 14 May 2014, from http://www.teachpe.com/a_level_analysis/movement_analysis_webpage.html. Thibodeau, G., & Patton, K. (1993). "The Species of the World. " Chapter ten: Anatomy of the muscular system. In Anatomy and Physiology (1st ed., p. 252).
This can potentially be a problem as all humans are different, and therefore each case is different. Race can sometimes be a misleading factor that leads to a false, premature diagnosis but this is so rare. When diagnosing a disease, medical professionals send results into a lab to be tested. Stating that knowing the race of a patient often causes misdiagnoses is absurd.
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.
Treatment can last from three months to sometimes longer than 4 years. Treatment types are exposure therapy, using me...
Several medications are available that may, in some individuals, improve symptoms or temporarily slow the disease progress, including: Cognex, Aricept, Exelon, and Reminyl. Other drugs are now being tested and could be marketed in the near future.
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
I just want to start off by saying the Paul was such an inspiration, and it was an honor to hear him speak about ALS. Before hearing him speak, all I really knew about ALS is that it affected the muscles. I never even knew that it was such a deadly disease. It was shocking to hear that the average life expectancy for someone with ALS is only 2-5 years. It was such great news to hear that Paul is going on to his 4th year, and was only recently in need of a wheelchair. While it is unfortunate that Paul was diagnosed with ALS, it is fortunate that his disease is slowly progressing. Some of the stories he shared about his friends made me realize that some people may take a turn for the worse, only several months after being diagnosed. It was wonderful to hear Paul say that he really thinks he will surpass the odds and make it to the 5th year. I really hope that Paul is one of the lucky ones, who are diagnosed with ALS, and live past the life expectancy.