What is ALS?

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

ALS or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a group of rare neurological diseases that mainly involve the nerve cells who are responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movements such as chewing, walking, and talking. The disease is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. Currently, there is no cure for ALS and no effective treatment to halt, or reverse, the progression of the disease.

This disease affects people of all races, but there are some common factors where the disease usually develops, such as age, gender and race; people with age between 55 and 75 are most likely to develop this disease, men are also slightly to develop ALS and non-hispanic and Caucasians aro also slightly to develop ALS.

Everyday an average of 15 people get diagnosed with ALS, more than 5,600 per year but as many 30,000 Americans.

What are its symptoms?

ALS can be so subtle that the symptoms are overlooked, but gradually these symptoms develop into more obvious weakness or atrophy that may cause a physician to suspect ALS. Some symptoms are:

-muscle twitches

-muscle cramps

-thight and stiff muscles

-slurred and nasal speech

-difficulty of swallowing and chewing

What are its causes?

The causes of ALS are not known, but evidence from scientific studies suggests that genetics and environment play an important role on the causes.

How can ALS be treated?

No cure has yet been found for ALS. However, there are treatments available that can help control symptoms, prevent unnecessary complications, and make living with the disease easier.

Medication such as the drugs riluzole (Rilutek) and

edaravone (Radicava) which are approved by the U.S Food and Drug administration can help during this process, also speech and physical therapy, nutritional and breathing support.

The goals of NINDS (National institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) research on ALS are to understand the cellular mechanisms involved in the development and progression of the disease, investigate the influence of genetics and other potential risk factors, identify biomarkers, and develop new and more effective treatments.

By Antonella Cantillo Cure, Step 9