Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Essay

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis was not brought to International or national attention until Famous New York Yankees baseball player, Lou Gehrig, was diagnosed with it in 1939. Jon Stone, the writer and creator of Sesame Street, was also diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is very deadly and it physically handicaps a person as it progresses. There are two types of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Sporadic and Familial. Sporadic is the most common cause in some cases and Familial is inherited, which is rare. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is one of the most aggressive muscular atrophy disorders, it has many signs and symptoms, and it can be treated but cannot be cured. …show more content…

According to ALS Association (2016, para. 1), “Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis eventually leads to their demise.” When our motor neurons die, our brain can no longer control our muscle movement. The survival time for a person living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is up to ten years because eventually a person’s body will shut down completely. According to the Mayo Clinic (2016, para. 2), “As the disease advances and nerve cells are destroyed, your muscles progressively weaken. This eventually affects chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing.” This disease is very scary to live with because you eventually die from

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