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Lou Gehrig's Disease treatment

Description
Lou Gehrig's Disease or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS), is a disease concentrated in the the nerve system (e.g brain and spinal cord) effecting voluntary control of the majority of muscle movement. This disease can cause twitching, spastic irritation of muscles, and muscular atrophy. The disease mostly effects the mortor tracts on the lateral columns and anterior horns of the spinal cord. ALS View more...
Causes
The only known cause of ALS is a defect in the in the sod1 gene. Which is thought to create a toxic protein for motor neurons. This defect can only account for 20% of the 5-10% of inherited (genitic) cases. (So 10/100 cases are genitic 2 of those ten are from the genitic protein defect) . In the remaining cases, the cause is unknown.

This disease slowly waste away mortor neuronsor simply diean View more...
Prevention
You may want to see a genetic counselor if you have a family history of ALS.
Common Symptoms
Symptoms include:
Difficulty breathing, Difficulty swallowing( ex Choking easily. ex Drooling.ex Gagging), Head drop due to weakness of the neck muscles, Muscle cramps, Muscle contractions called fasciculations, Muscle weakness that slowly gets worse, Paralysis, Speech problems, such as a slow or abnormal speech pattern (slurring of words), Voice changes - hoarseness, Weight loss
Rare Symptoms
• Lung failure
• Pneumonia
• Pressure sores
• Weight loss
Traditional Treatment
There is no known cure for ALS. The first drug treatment for the disease is a medicine called riluzole. Riluzole slows the disease progression and prolongs life.
Patients may opt. to have a feeding tube placed in their stomcah to deal with choking which is common. This is called a gastrostomy.
A nutritionist is very important. Patients with ALS tend to lose weight. The illness itself increases the View more...
Alternative Treatment
Treatments to control symptoms are also helpful:
• Baclofen or diazepam may be used to control spasticity that interferes with daily activities.
• Trihexyphenidyl or amitriptyline may be prescribed for people with problems swallowing their own saliva.
Physical therapy, rehabilitation, use of braces or a wheelchair, or other orthopedic measures may be needed to maximize muscle function and general View more...
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