Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The motor neuronal death within the brain reaches the spinal cord and then from there reaches the muscles throughout the body. Through the progression of this disease, patients inevitably lose their ability to initiate and control their own muscles. People in the late stages of ALS often become completely paralyzed. ALS is not reversable and there is no cure as of yet. Once a person is diagnosed with this disease they basically use a lot of medications and resources to make themselves as comfortable as possible before they inevitably die as a result of their inability to control their muscle movement.
Before this class I had not thought a lot about ALS, I had heard of it but did not really know what it was or how it effected the brain. The article we read this week during neurochemistry was very insightful and helped me to see what actually goes on in a persons body when they have this disease. Though there is little we can do to prevent or reverse this disease some things have been found to be slightly helpful. For one there is one treatment medication that is well known for this disease. It is called Riluzole and it was first approved in 1995 as a treatment for ALS. The way it works is that it decreases glutimate release in the brain thus reducing the motor neuron death. It extends the life of the motor neurons which temporarily improves the quality of life for the patient. Another way to prolong the life of the patient is to accumulate a lot of fat on the body. It is not very sientific, but it has been suggested that people with higher body fat live longer with this disease than people that have little body fat.
This disease is aweful and takes it’s toll on an individual; not only does it effect the entire rest of their life, but they also need to be cared for by numerous people. As the disease progresses the patient becomes weak and cannot do a lot for themselves. Family and friends can be very helpful, but once the disease reaches a certain point many other professionals need to be brought in. These specialists include doctors, pharmacists, OTs, PTs, social workers, nutritionists, nurses, hospice care, and therapists. It takes a lot just to keep this person as comfortable and stable as they can make them while facing the end of their life. Personally I think making a person feel better while they are suffering from ALS would be beneficial but at the same time it would make their life worse bcause they know the outcome no matter how long they can prolong it. A lot is still not understood about this disease or the brain in general for that matter, so there is hope that one day we will find a cure for this disease so that people do not need to suffer this kind of tradgety any longer. One last “fun fact” that I learned about this disease is that to many people it is known as Lou Gehrig’s disease and recent research has discovered that Lou Gehrig may not actually have had this disease. They think that he possibly suffered concussions that led to CET. CET is a disease that happens in people who suffer many concussions or blows to the head and shows very similar symptoms as a person suffering from ALS.
What is ALS?
