MadSci Network: Medicine |
Hi Joy. I am sorry about the death of your family member. ALS is a nasty disease. As far as I know, the scientists still don't know the cause of it (or a good cure) but they have made serious progress. Genetics alone doesn't seem to explain every case. I remember reading one article saying that a team of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) ( http://www.mgh.harvard.edu ) had found evidence that a key programmed cell death gene MIGHT play a role in ALS. But I've also read about a possible viral cause of the disease. So scientists don't seem to know yet. For those people who are reading this, and don't know what "Lou Gehrig's disease" is, read the information below. The disease is identified with its most famous victim, the baseball star Lou Gehrig (1903–1941), who was a victim of ALS. Around 4,600 people are diagnosed with the disease each year in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health ----------------------------------------------------------------- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With all voluntary muscle action affected, patients in the later stages of the disease become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected. A-myo-trophic 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 wastes away. "Lateral" identifies the 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") in the region. As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness, especially involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing and breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (waste away). Limbs begin to look "thinner" as muscle tissue atrophies. Source: http://www.ALSA.org/als/whatis.cf m ------------------------------------------------------------------------- According to a Johns Hopkins university website: Although the cause of ALS remains unknown, current theories suggest that the neurotransmitter glutamate (a chemical that transmits signals between nerve cells) may play some role in the death of motor nerve cells. Other chemicals, such as free radical molecules and calcium, may also be involved. To find this article go to my seductive website (if you find science seductive...actually you'll be pleasantly surprised if you visit my site), and click on my link for "intelihealth". Once there, search for ALS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is my 4th answer in 2 days! That's a record for me. I am Arash E. Cellular Biology and Genetics undergraduate University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada
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