ALS awareness has taken the nation by storm recently thanks to the famous “ALS Ice-Bucket Challenge.” I personally have little to no experience with ALS. The only exposure I have had to ALS in my life has come in the form of my favorite tv show Scrubs. One episode portrayed a patient (~30yrs old) who was struggling through the fast progression of her ailment. This blew me away. I hadn’t heard of this disease before and here it was trapping someone in a tomb of her own body. What people don’t understand about ALS is truly how destructive it is and just how fast it can progress. Many attribute the lack of awareness to this disease because it isn’t as “commercial” as cancer or Parkinson’s.
ALS essentially causes the degeneration of our motor neurons in our brain and spinal cord causing us to lose the ability to move. This occurs because of a variety of reasons, causing motor neurons to go through the process of apoptosis (cellular suicide). The pathway we covered stems from over-excitement of these motor neurons by the neurotransmitter glutamate, allowing too many calcium ions into the neurons. Older research focused on the receptor protein known as AMPA because it was believed this receptor played the major role in triggering motor neuron death upon binding glutamate. However, it is now being realized that another receptor known as the NMDA receptor plays a major role in triggering motor neuron death. It is now known that the AMPA receptor helps to trigger the opening of the NMDA receptor which leads to an influx of calcium ions into the motor neuron which causes cellular changes, leading to apoptosis. This is just another additional pathway which leads to the onset of ALS.
It is extremely difficult to find a solution to curing ALS because there are so many factors and pathways that cause the disease, many of which are just now beginning to be researched. The average American citizen is not fluent in Neurochemistry or human physiology. However, one thing we all are fluent in is compassion and speaking. We have the ability to feel and try to understand peoples’ circumstances and thus communicate their situation in an effort to spread awareness and possibly help.
The ice-bucket challenge has been subject to large amounts of positive and negative responses. Many people are unhappy with how donations are being utilized. One thing those people are failing to recognize is simply important awareness is. Research is able to take new routes thanks to new funding and this new funding occurs thanks to new donors that are direct results of this awareness. The ability of researchers to explore new routes towards understanding this disease bring us that much closer to a cure. Hopefully by the end of our lifetime we can look at ALS as something other than a death sentence.
There is no cure for ALS at this point in time. However, our healthcare system can provide more specialized care for those with ALS. This specifically can occur in hospice care. You see, ALS isn’t slow progressing and it’s a very unique kind of struggle that patients and their families are going through. Specialized hospice care can provide better counseling for patients and families and at least make things as good as they can get until there is a cure.
In the meantime, consider this “would you rather” situation: Would you rather lose your motor function first (ALS), or your cognitive function (Alzheimer’s)?
Until next time…
-Sebastian
ALS: Recent Publicity Reignites Awareness
