These days social media is full of #IceBucketChallenge videos, aiming to raise awareness about ALS disease. Eventually, I was challenged by a good friend of mine. If it was not during such a busy time for me, I probably would have also joined the fun and would have a video of ice water poured on me, in addition to donating for the cause. I did donate to ALSA for the cause, and I encourage you to do the same for ALS or other research areas related to human body and health. Instead of pouring ice bucket on me, I decided to do something from behind my desk, like I mostly do. I thought to myself, how much do I really know about ALS? Not much, I realized. So, I figured let that be my lesson of the day today and help raise awareness and spread the word. Here are a few things I learned by a quick search. Would you like to add anything?
ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It is also referred to as Motor Neuron Disease (MND). However, there are five different motor neuron diseases. ALS is the most common among the five. In the United States it is also called the Lou Gehrig's disease. Lou Gehrig was a major league baseball player who died of ALS in 1941, and his fame made the public learn about this disease.
ALS is a neurodegenerative disease, causing "progressive loss of structure or function of neurons functions". Initial symptoms include weakness of muscles where neurons are damaged. 75% of people with this disease experience muscle weakness in their arms and legs. Other symptoms may include difficulty swallowing or cramping. "Over time, patients experience increasing difficulty moving, swallowing (dysphagia), and speaking or forming words (dysarthria). "[2]
The average survival time of this disease is 39 months. Only 4% of the patients survive more than 10 years. The exceptional case is that of Stephen Hawking who has lived with the disease over 50 years! His survival seems as exceptional as his science!
References:
[1]http://www.alsa.org
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyotrophic_lateral_sclerosis
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Gehrig
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking
