Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
What is amyotrophic sclerosis?Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is also called as Lou Gehri's disease. The disease progress very rapidly and is invariably fatal neurological disease, which attacks the nerve cells that controls the voluntary muscles. The disease is counted in the group of motor neuron diseases.
Motor neurons are the positioned in the brainstem, brain and spinal code that control vital communication links between voluntary muscles and nervous system of the body. Messages are transmitted from motor neurons in the brain that is also called as upper motor neurons to motor neurons in the spinal code that is lower motor nervous. In this disease both the lower and upper motor neurons dies stopping the sending of messages to muscles. At this position muscles weakens, twitch and waste away.
The disease gives weakness with varieties of disabilities. Because of the disease the muscles under voluntary control gets affection and in such condition patients may lose the ability to move their arms, legs and body. Patients lose their ability when the muscles of the chest wall and diaphragm fail. Most of people lost their life because of only respiratory failure.
However the disease does not damage to the mind or intelligence of the person. But some recent studies said that there is problem such as depression and problem with decision making and memory. There is also no affection with the ability such as taste, hear, see and recognize touch.
Who get affected?
ALS is one of the most common neuromuscular diseases worldwide. People with ethnic backgrounds and of all races get affected by the disease. The people between the ages of 40 to 70 develop ALS. It can be diagnosed with an average age of 55. The disease may occur is persons at the age of twenties to thirties. However, it occurs mostly when the men and women grow older. The disease is common in men than in women. But it can be equal between men and women with increasing age.
There are several researches have done regarding to ALS to find out its basic causes, but still there is need to determine environmental or genetic factors that causes ALS. Half of people affected by the disease live hardly for three or more than after diagnosis. Twenty percent of people live for five or more than; more than ten percent people live for more than ten years. However, some of people with ALS may live for longer because of clinical management interventions and other compounds drugs taken under investigation.
