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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(a/k/a Lou Gehrig's Disease) is a devastating, progressive neuromuscular
disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. When
these neurons can no longer send impulses to the body’s muscles, the
muscles waste away leading inevitably to complete paralysis.
Predictably, persons with ALS lose their ability to move or even to
speak, eat or breathe, while intellectual functions remain intact.
Did You Know:
Facts:
At this time there is no cure,
although progress is being made. In ALS, motor neurons (which reach
from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the
muscles) begin to deteriorate for unknown reasons. These motor neurons
usually tell the muscles how to move. As they die off, the brain
cannot tell the muscles how to move and so all voluntary movement is
affected.
People living with ALS retain their
sense of feeling and their mental capacities. They are fully aware of
events as they take place. ALS can strike anyone at any age, but
generally it occurs between the ages of 40 and 70 to men and women in
equal numbers. According to The National Institute of Health, over
5,000 people in the U.S. are newly diagnosed each year. Approximately
10% of the cases are genetic. ALS is so variable, that it is difficult
to predict the rate of progression in any one patient. Most patients
tend to progress in weakness over a three to five year period.
However, some may live up to 10 years and beyond.
Symptoms:
The onset of ALS can be subtle in
nature presenting itself with muscle stiffness, fatigue and/or
fasciculations (muscle twitching). In 1/3 of the patients, the first
signs are clumsy hands. Others notice weakened legs, slowing of
speech and swallowing problems. Eventual progression of wasting leads
to paralysis of the extremities. Breathing may also be affected.
Usually, the movement of the eyes and bladder and rectal control are
not affected.
Treatment:
Present treatment of ALS is aimed at
symptomatic relief, prevention of complications and maintenance of
function and quality of life. Most of this, in the later stages,
requires nursing management of a patient who is alert but functionally
quadriplegic with intact sensory function, bedridden and aware he or
she is going to die.
The financial cost to families of
persons with ALS is exceedingly high. It is estimated that in the
advanced stages, care can cost an average of $200,000 a year.
Patients’ and relatives’ entire savings are quickly depleted
because of the extraordinary cost involved in the care of ALS. It is
likely that someone you know or love will die from ALS unless a cure
or prevention is found.
The Lou Gehrig's Disease Association of Southwest
Florida, Inc. is here to help the victims and families of ALS.
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