The implications of ALS rase a lot of questions for many Americans about the ethics of physician assisted suicide. As there is currently a lack of any sort of treatment for ALS, so this usually results in methods to reduce the discomfort during the last few months to years of someone’s life.
The development of ALS result in procedural loss of function of motor neurons, this results from a lack of available energy for the cells to stimulate muscle cells. During my portion of research for the class, I looked at the energy consumption in motor neurons. This energy deficit can result from a lack of glucose uptake in motor neurons, and as someone with ALS gets older, the ability for cells to replenish their internal energy storage diminishes. This results in the inability to control those muscles because of the motor neurons.
having known someone who has suffered from ALS, it is a rather difficult process to see as a bystander, the slow loss of control that occurs over time. from seeing the individual that was once able to walk was wheelchair bound, after a couple years. The thought of slowly and conscientiously being aware of these changes results in a rather depressing ending for one’s life. This raises many questions about the aforementioned physician assisted suicide, as with the current cellular changes that are undergoing in motor neurons, this results in a currently untreatable diagnosis.
