Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Paper

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The topic I have chosen to do for this month’s essay on is Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. This is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. A motor neuron goes from the brain to the spinal cord then to the muscles throughout the body. This progressive degeneration eventually leads to death. This disease affects the ability for the brain to communicate and control muscle and muscle movement is lost. A patient in the later stages of the disease may become completely paralyzed. What is the meaning of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis? Let’s break it down; A-myo-tropic comes form the Greek language. “ A” means no or negative. “Myo” means muscle, and “Trophic” refers to nourishment. So all together it is “No muscle nourishment”. “lateral” is the area in the spinal cord and it eventually leads to “sclerosis” (scarring or hardening) in this area. When someone is overcome by ALS, they no longer possess normal motor skills. Early symptoms include increasing muscle weakness, involving the arms, legs, speech, swallowing, and or breathing. The thing about muscles is that when they are not used they atrophy or become smaller. The patient limbs start to look thinner as their muscle …show more content…
About 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed every year. That is about two percent of 100,000 people, it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any time. After diagnosed, about five percent will live about twenty years, ten percent will live ten years, twenty percent will live five years, and sixty percent will live no more then two to five years. There are some cases in which the disease has stopped progressing, and a then there are also a small number of people whom the symptom have reversed. ALS does not care who you are, what you look like, or what you do. ALS occurs throughout the world and can strike
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