Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Essay

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, is a degenerative disease that affects the 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 the nerve cells that control muscle contractions; they are located in the spinal cord and in the brainstem. ALS weakens the neurons to a point that all movement, including breathing, stops. The first symptom to develop is muscle weakness usually ones that are distant from the brain, such as the hands and feet, and then it slowly spreads through other muscle groups closer to the brain. Early symptoms are very slight and often go unnoticed. They begin as simple things, such as tipping or dropping things. Then follows cramping or twitching of the muscles then unusual fatigue of the arms and legs comes shortly. In more advanced stages the victim experiences shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and difficulty swallowing. Once the body is completely taken over the disease intellect, eye motion, bladder function, and sensation are the only abilities spared. Scientists still don’t know where or how it originated. ALS was first identified in 1869, by a French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. ALS is not contagious, but researchers are still unsure on the cause of the disease. Today there are three recognized forms of ALS: genetic, sporadic, and Guamanian. The genetic form of ALS appears to be inherited or passed down within a family, and about ten percent of ALS patients have a family history of the disease. An abnormal gene has been located in about half these families, but the cause of the remaining half is still unknown. The next, most common form, Is sporadic ALS. These patients have no family history of

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

INTRODUCTION Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a specific disorder that involves the death of neurons, it most common in motor neuron and it affects nerve cell in the brain and the spinal cord. It results in the death of the neuron that control voluntary muscle; it is also called Lou Gehrig’s. It is the most common degenerative disorder in humans, in which the person have loss both lower motor neuron and higher motor neuron. Its pathogenesis is complex and multifactorial and involves the genomics…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gerhig’s disease and Charcot disease, is a disorder that involves the death of neurons. ALS is characterized by stiff muscles, the twitching of muscles and gradually worsening weakness due to muscle deterioration. This results difficulty of speaking, swallowing…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating disease that viciously damages and destroys nerve cells and results in disability. The disease causes nerve cells to gradually atrophy and die. The first signs of symptoms for ALS include slurred speech, twitching of muscles, and weakness in a limb. It eventually disturbs the muscles needed to breath, eat, speak, and move. The disease is classified in with a larger group of disorders established as motor neuron diseases. These diseases generate…

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Essay on Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS is a nervous system disease which severely damages neurons in your brain and spinal cord. Neurons help your brain pass a message to muscles throughout your body, like your arms, and legs, these are called voluntary muscles. In particular, the upper and lower motor neurons are being destroyed. Because your neurons are being disturbed you have less control over your body. Eventually things that you need to survive will stop working like your lung or heart. ALS is…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Intro Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS, is a fatal nervous system disease that effects both upper and lower motor neurons, it is caused by a degeneration of muscles, and it has no real effective drug as of now. Sentence about anatomy of systems. Snetence about cause of disease. Sentence about complications and diagnosis. Repeat thesis. What is ALS? In regards to movement, ALS makes body and limb mobility increasingly difficult. When it comes to an ALS's patient’s behavior and thinking…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Paper

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is neurological disorder that affects the muscle system and ultimately leads to the death of the affected individual because there is no cure. According to the ALS Association, “6,000 people are diagnosed with ALS in the U.S. each year” ( “Who Gets ALS?”). ALS is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease after a famous baseball player that was forced to retire after diagnosis and eventually died from the disease. Most indiivuals with ALS only live three to five…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Paper

The topic I have chosen to do for this month’s essay on is Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. This is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. A motor neuron goes from the brain to the spinal cord then to the muscles throughout the body. This progressive degeneration eventually leads to death. This disease affects the ability for the brain to communicate and control muscle and muscle movement is lost. A patient in the…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Paper

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Lauren Boyd Biology 110 Dr. Draughon Class Project ALS is a complex neurodegenerative disease. It’s a very rapid progressive disease. ALS is genetic and had increased a lot in the past couple of years. It disturbs the nerve system, the brain and the spinal cord in the body. It is also well-known as the “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”. The motor neutrons go from the brain to the spinal cord and then they hit the muscles in the body, when these things start to not function,…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Ice Bucket Challenge

Yaqi Wan Instructor Gaines EN 120 September 17, 2014 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis This summer, an activity called Ice Bucket Challenge becomes popular; all of the social media sites are filled with people who dumping the buckets with ice water over their heads. This challenge catches people’s eyes and let more and more people know the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and let them help the patients. However, do you really understand what ALS is? What are the symptoms? And who get ALS? The ice…

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Lou Gehrig's Disease

Amyotrophic comes from the Greek language. “A” means no or negative. “Myo” refers to muscle, and “Trophic” means nourishment. No muscle nourishment… When a muscle has no nourishment, it atrophies or waste away. Lateral identifies the specific areas in a person’s spinal cord where portions of the nerve cells that nourish the muscles are located. As this area degenerates it leads to scarring or hardening (sclerosis). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is referred to Lou Gehrig’s disease. It…

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