Lou Gehrig's Disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Lou Gehrig was a famous baseball player of the New York Yankees for 17 years. In 1938, he was diagnosed with ALS and died in 1941 at the age of 37. The name amyotrophic lateral sclerosis comes from the Greek language with “a” meaning no, “myo” meaning muscle, and “trophic” meaning nourishment, translating to no muscle nourishment. Lateral refers to the area in the spinal cord where the nerve cells that signal and control muscles are located, and sclerosis refers to the scarring or hardening in the region where degeneration has occurred. These are a lot of big words to mean it is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and

These can include a spinal cord tumor, herniated disk, syringomyelia, cervical spondylosis, HIV, human T-cell leukemia virus, polio, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease. Some of the tests used to rule out these other problems and diseases are electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction velocity (NCV), blood and urine samples, spinal tap, x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), myelogram, muscle or nerve biopsy, and a neurological examination. It is recommended a person diagnosed with ALS seek out a second opinion from an ALS expert. From the time of diagnosis, the average lifespan is 3-5 years, with only 10% of patients living past this

It’s a nonprofit organization whose mission is to “lead the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support”. They implement programs in research, public policy, care services and chapter relations, and public education and awareness. Each chapter provides local services and support to ALS patients and their families. They lend patients and their caregivers speech devices, hospital beds, and other equipment used to help with daily activities. Once a year, they host a Walk to Defeat ALS to raise awareness, raise money for research, and show support to those currently battling the illness and honor those who’ve lost their