What is the full form of ALS?

The full form of ALS is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Another name for ALS is motor neuron disease (MND). The neurons that govern the voluntary muscles die as a result of this illness. These muscles are the ones we have the power over to do as we like. These muscles, which are affixed to the bones and are in charge of locomotion, are also known as skeletal muscles. Muscle twitching, stiffness, and a slow decline in muscle size that results in weakness in the body are typical ALS symptoms. 

• The circumstance The usual bodily weakness that precedes ALS progressively gives way to the rigidity of the muscles and joints, as well as trouble speaking and swallowing for the patient. Many of the patients begin to experience problems thinking, while a small number experience behavioural changes. Pain is experienced by patients as well. The illness ultimately worsens and causes breathing difficulties as well as reduced movement in the hands and legs. Additionally, the patient is unable to walk or perform any self-care.
• Approximately 95% of cases have no known cause, but experts think environmental and genetic factors may play a role. The other 5% of cases in which the patient’s family history reveals that someone else has experienced a condition comparable to theirs are to be taken as hereditary. Typically, the lower motor neurons of the spinal cord and the brain’s motor nuclei receive messages from the higher motor neurons in the brain, which are referred to as “upper motor neurons.”
• Upper and lower motor neurons are damaged in ALS, which causes them to slowly deteriorate and die. Typically, diagnosis and prognosis are based on the patient’s current signs and symptoms. From this point on, testing is performed to rule out likely causes.
• There is no known cure for ALS. Thus, therapy options are limited. Typically, the primary therapy strategy for any neuron injury and disease would centre on reducing the patient’s symptoms.

Prognosis:

The drug riluzole aids in extending the patient’s life by three to four months. Mechanical ventilation is also used to lessen patients’ symptoms, but it cannot stop the disease from spreading. Although ALS can strike anyone at any age, it mostly affects persons over the age of 55. Usually, during the first 6 years of the onset of the first symptom in the body, people pass away from respiratory failure. 8% to 10% of patients do manage to live for ten years or more.

Charles Bell made the first discovery of ALS in 1824. Jean-Martin Charcot made the connection between the symptoms and the underlying neurological issues later in the year 1869. Thus, Jean-Martin Charcot first used the term “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis” in 1874. Since the renowned baseball player Lou Gehrig was afflicted with this illness in 1939, it is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig’s sickness. As a result, the illness was widely known in the United States during the 20th century.

Motor neuron disease is a bunch of neurological disorders that affect the motor neurons of the body affecting the voluntary muscles of the body. These are:

1. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis( ALS )
2. Primary Lateral Sclerosis( PLS )
3. Progressive Muscular Atrophy( PMA )
4. Progressive Bulbar Palsy( PBP )
5. Pseudobulbar Palsy
6. Monomeric Amyotrophy( MMA )

ALS is further identified as a service-connected disease by the UN Department of Veterans Affairs. Further classified into 2 types which are:

1. Sporadic ALS
2. Familial ALS

Sporadic ALS: About 80% of people are impacted by this. This means that the illness strikes people at random, regardless of family history. Although there is a small chance that ALS would strike a family member, most won’t necessarily get the disease.

Familial ALS: Around 10% to 15% of persons fall into this category, meaning they have a family history or genetic predisposition to the condition. The gene causing the familial type of ALS must be present in at least one parent. A dozen different genes mutations could be to blame for familial ALS. The same genes have also been linked to frontal-temporal lobe dementia by studies.