ALS

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

**Overview:** ALS is a genetic disorder that affects the nerve cells in the bodys brain and also the spinal cord. This will make it harder for you to do the most basic things in life like eating, talking, breathing, and even walking could become difficult. People with the ages 55-75 are more prone to getting ALS. The cause of ALS is unknown.




 * Signs and Symptoms: **

The signs and symptoms for ALS are slurred speech, struggles with eating, loses breath often, and fatigue. ALS is fatal because it causes respiratory failure. After you are diagnosed with ALS, the life expectancy is about five years.

**Genetics:**
ALS is caused by a recessive allele, so it doesn't display codominance or incomplete dominance. The different types of this disease are Sporadic and Familial ALS. When there is a heterozygous form, then that person is a carrier. Men are a little bit more likely to get this disorder than women are because of toxins.. ALS is sex-linked, but it is possible that there is an environmental trigger. This disorder is found in the X chromosome. = Distribution: = there isn't a most common place for ALS ,"ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries."(1). The disease isn't restricted to one group of people because it is all over the world and not in a certain area.

= Management and Treatment: = There is no cure for ALS, but going to therapy and taking medications can help make it a little better. Other treatments include breathing devices, palliative care, and physical therapy. There are also drugs to that can help relieve discomfort. Lastly, surgery and medical procedures can be done on people with ALS. The most common are gastrostomy and tracheotomy. These methods can make the patient be more comfortable.

Miscellaneous
Around the world, people are doing something called the ice bucket challenge. In the summer of 2014 it raised $115 million for ALS research projects. Not only did it raise money, but it also raised awareness. The ice bucket challenge is where you fill a bucket of ice cold water, and pour it on your head to raise money and show support for people with ALS. Even famous people contributed to this challenge.

Society and culture:
This disease is very bad because symptoms can start to show when you're life is stable. Symptoms can start to show at 55. People are very supportive of the people who have it, and some people even donate money. ALS affects the way a person is able to contribute to society because even things as simple as walking and talking, become difficult. Different cultures do not view this disorder differently.


 * History**: ALS is named after Lou Gehrig, who was a baseball player who had ALS. ALS was "Identified as a specific disease by Jean Martin Charcot."(2) People sometimes would call it the Charcots disease in France because of Jean inventing it. ALS never really changed throughout the years, they were just able to understand it better.

Further Research:
This association gives more information about [|ALS] while they continue to do research about this disease.

media type="youtube" key="uDAKAPR-b1E" width="560" height="315" A documentary on Mike Winston who is currently living with ALS.

Works Cited:
1. “What Is ALS?” ALSA.org , www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html. (1) 2. “Lou Gehrig and the History of ALS.” ALS Texas , www.alstexas.org/understanding-als/lou-gehrig/. (2)


 * 1) the ALS Association -  1275 K Street NW - Suite 250 -  Washington, DC 20005 []
 * 2) The ALS Association - 1275 K Street NW - Suite 250 - Washington, DC 20005 []
 * 3) McIntosh, James. "All about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)." //Medical News Today //. MediLexicon, Intl., 14 Dec. 2017. Web. []
 * 4) <span style="color: #444444; font-family: &#39;Source Sans Pro&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">"Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Fact Sheet", NINDS, Publication date June 2013. []
 * 5) <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Calibri,Arial; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline;">The ALS Association - 1275 K Street NW - Suite 250 - Washington, DC 20005 ©2018 []