Pre-AP English 2
Karmyn Pearn
10/26/14
5th
ALS
I’m trapped. I’m screaming but nobody seems to hear me. I can’t move. It
sounds like a horror movie. It’s not. It’s ALS-Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Also
known as Lou Gehrigs disease. It is a fatal neurological disease that is rapidly
progressive and starts from their legs and feet and works its way up their body.
ALS is a degeneration of motor neurons that move from the brain and down the
spinal cord and to all the muscles in the body.
More than 12,000 people in the United States have been diagnosed with
ALS. ALS strikes the ages varying between 20 and 80, although rarely, younger
people have been known to get it. There is no specific race or ethnic background
that ALS affects. However, it is most commonly seen in white males
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around the ages 60 to 69.
Nobody completely knows the cause of this deadly disease. There
have been cases of ALS linked with the mutation in the gene that produces SOD1
enzymes, but we really don’t know why it targets some people and not others.
A person with ALS may start to notice tight, stiff muscles with lots of
cramps, weakness or clumsiness. They may have difficulty with everyday
activities such as writing, buttoning a shirt, or walking. Symptoms may quickly
progress to being wheelchair or bed bound. Although your body stops working,
your senses are still intact.You can still think, hear, see and feel as you were
always able to ,but you cannot make your body function. In the last stages of ALS
you may lose the ability to communicate at all.
We have yet to find a cure, but they have found a drug that helps reduce
the damage to motor neurons and can help prolong their survival by several
months, but it does not repair damage that has already been done. The only other
treatments available are to help with the symptoms like physical therapy, home
health care, medicines to help muscle cramps and lung infections. Eventually
patients will need machines to help them breathe, and tubes to give them
food.
They are constantly researching to find the exact cause or causes for ALS, so they
can find a cure.
Works Cited"Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Fact Sheet." : National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2014.
This can potentially be a problem as all humans are different, and therefore each case is different. Race can sometimes be a misleading factor that leads to a false, premature diagnosis but this is so rare. When diagnosing a disease, medical professionals send results into a lab to be tested. Stating that knowing the race of a patient often causes misdiagnoses is absurd.
It is truly remarkable how Randy Pausch and Morrie Schwartz stories are so similar but yet so different. They both seem to have an outlook on life in a positive way, not sad or demeaning. The only crippling difference is the fact that Morrie was at the age that wasn’t abnormal to be sick and Randy was just dealt the cards for a short life. One of Professor Randy Pausch’s many quotes during The Last Lecture makes a similar point between his experience and Morrie’s when he says, “…it’s hard to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer – people who get it don’t live long enough.” ALS is such a rehabilitating disease that scientist have issues pinpointing the causes to even get close to a cure, which didn’t hinder either of their strive to keep going as far as they could.
The overview definition of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is defined in the Medical Dictionary for Allied Health as a “progressive degenerative disease of the lateral columns of the spinal cord leading to weakness paralysis and death (Breskin, 2008).” This definition is brief but by looking at this one helps to better define the disease, which follows. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig disease the progressive destruction is of the motor neuron this results in muscular atrophy. The nerve cells effected are from the brain to the spinal cord and the spinal cord to the peripheral these are the nerves that control muscle movement. ALS affects muscles that are controlled by conscious thought, this includes arms, legs, and trunk muscles. ALS leaves sensation, thought processes, the heart muscle, digestive system, bladder, and other internal organs unaffected.
amount of time depending on the severity and the frequency of the instances. If not
If there's some sort of treatment, fully explain everything that could possibly be
ALS is led to mean no muscle nourishment. When a muscle has no nourishment, it atrophies or wastes away hence the name. In addition to this, lateral shows the areas in a person's spinal cord where part of the nerve cells that signal and control the muscles are located. As this area degenerates, it leads to scarring or hardening (sclerosis) in this particular region.
Goldmann, David R., and David A. Horowitz. American College of Physicians Home Medical Guide to Parkinson's Disease. New York: Dorling Kindersley Pub., 2000. Print.
Although there is no cure for TSD, there are several revention methods for the disease, which gives hope to those who are carrier, but would like to bring a family into the world. Hopefully, further study and research of Tay-Sachs will lead to a cure one day, and TSD will no longer be a deadly factor for infants, and bring hope to their parents.
Treatment can last from three months to sometimes longer than 4 years. Treatment types are exposure therapy, using me...
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a degenerative disease affecting the human nervous system. It is a deadly disease that cripples and kills its victims due to a breakdown in the body’s motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells in the brainstem and spinal cord that control muscle contractions. In ALS, these neurons deteriorate to a point that all movement, including breathing, halts. Muscle weakness first develops in the muscles of body parts distant from the brain, such as the hands, and subsequently spreads through other muscle groups closer to the brain. Such early symptoms as this, however, can hardly be noticed.
Living in a country that is 77% white you are bound to experience it (qtd. In Quick Facts)
Retrieved 14 May 2014, from http://www.teachpe.com/a_level_analysis/movement_analysis_webpage.html. Thibodeau, G., & Patton, K. (1993). "The Species of the World. " Chapter ten: Anatomy of the muscular system. In Anatomy and Physiology (1st ed., p. 252).
Several medications are available that may, in some individuals, improve symptoms or temporarily slow the disease progress, including: Cognex, Aricept, Exelon, and Reminyl. Other drugs are now being tested and could be marketed in the near future.
I just want to start off by saying the Paul was such an inspiration, and it was an honor to hear him speak about ALS. Before hearing him speak, all I really knew about ALS is that it affected the muscles. I never even knew that it was such a deadly disease. It was shocking to hear that the average life expectancy for someone with ALS is only 2-5 years. It was such great news to hear that Paul is going on to his 4th year, and was only recently in need of a wheelchair. While it is unfortunate that Paul was diagnosed with ALS, it is fortunate that his disease is slowly progressing. Some of the stories he shared about his friends made me realize that some people may take a turn for the worse, only several months after being diagnosed. It was wonderful to hear Paul say that he really thinks he will surpass the odds and make it to the 5th year. I really hope that Paul is one of the lucky ones, who are diagnosed with ALS, and live past the life expectancy.