ALS

AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS)

• progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord
• Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body
• the motor neurons die, & the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost
• voluntary muscle action progressively affected
• patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed

Symptoms:
Muscle weakness (legs, speech, swallowing,
breathing)
Twitching & cramps
"Thick speech"
Etc.

STATISTICS

• a little over 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year
• 60% of the people with ALS in the Database are men & 93% of patients in the Database are Caucasian
• Most people who develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70
• Military veterans are approximately twice as likely to develop ALS
• Half of all people affected with ALS live at least three or more years after diagnosis

DIAGNOSING ALS

• no one test or procedure to ultimately establish the diagnosis of ALS
• electrodiagnostic tests including electomyography (EMG) and nerve conduction velocity (NCV)
• blood and urine studies/muscle and/or nerve biopsy
• spinal tap/myelogram of cervical spine
• x-rays, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) / thorough neurological examination

Types of ALS:
Sporadic
Familial
Guamanian

Untitled Slide

• sporadic:most common form of ALS in the U.S -90 to 95% of all cases
• Familial- genetic dominant inheritance- 5 to 10%
• Guamanian- Extremely high incidence that occured in the 1950s

LOU GEHRIG

CARRIE RABOLD'S VIEW ON HER DAD'S EXPERIENCE (MY UNCLE)