What is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), (a-my-o-TROE-fik LAT-ur-ul skluh-ROE-sis) often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive disease of the nervous system that affects 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 leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
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 or breathing. When muscles no longer receive the messages from the motor neurons that they require to function, the muscles begin to atrophy (become smaller). Limbs begin to look "thinner" as muscle tissue atrophies.
5,000+
people are diagnosed per year
2-5 Years
is the average life expectancy
Only 10%
of cases are inherited through a mutated gene
According to the American Academy of Neurology’s Practice Parameter Update, studies have shown that participation in a multidisciplinary ALS clinic may prolong survival and improve quality of life.