Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot in 1869 discovered Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (The ALS Association, 2015). ALS is more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease after Lou Gehrig, a great American baseball player whose career unfortunately ended abruptly due to this incurable degenerative disease. ALS is the deterioration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord that leads to muscle weakness. This significant decrease in muscle strength eventually becomes paralysis, and the majority of those with this awful disease die from respiratory failure. This is the most common neuromuscular disease and affects 12,000 people annually and about 4 out of every 100,000 people (National Institute of Neurological,
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A nerve cell is also called a motor neuron, which is made from a cell body, an axon and axon terminals. The cell body contains a nucleus and dendrites that receive the signals and send it down the axon that is covered in myelin sheath. The axon terminals are connected to the muscles creating a neuromuscular junction. This is where the signal is relayed to the muscle. There are two groups of motor neurons: upper and lower. Upper motor neurons are those found in the brain and lower motor neurons are those found around the spinal cord. Motor neurons are connected to a portion of muscle fibers, depending on the needed strength and accuracy the ratio of neurons to muscle fibers varies, this as a whole is referred to as a motor unit. The brain sends nerve impulse down the spinal cord to specific nerves that are connected to certain muscles to make a contraction (Neuroscience, 1997). For example, when a person is thirsty their brain signals the muscles in the arm and hand to pick of a glass of water and bring it toward the …show more content…
Medications and therapy are being used to increase the quality of life of patients suffering from ALS. The medication Riluzole, approved in 1995, was brought to the market to increase the life span of suffering patients, with an average prolonging of two to three months (Bosch, 2014). The hope for future treatment would be another drug that is synergistic with Riluzole and has the ability to cause a standstill in the disease process during the beginning stages (McGoldrick, 2013). As this disease progresses, it take control away from the patient. Therapy is used to help them regain partial control and a minimal amount of strength back. This degenerative disease is irreversible, ultimately takes over the body, and ceases all movement rendering the patient incapable of necessary movements to stay
A nerve cell is also called a motor neuron, which is made from a cell body, an axon and axon terminals. The cell body contains a nucleus and dendrites that receive the signals and send it down the axon that is covered in myelin sheath. The axon terminals are connected to the muscles creating a neuromuscular junction. This is where the signal is relayed to the muscle. There are two groups of motor neurons: upper and lower. Upper motor neurons are those found in the brain and lower motor neurons are those found around the spinal cord. Motor neurons are connected to a portion of muscle fibers, depending on the needed strength and accuracy the ratio of neurons to muscle fibers varies, this as a whole is referred to as a motor unit. The brain sends nerve impulse down the spinal cord to specific nerves that are connected to certain muscles to make a contraction (Neuroscience, 1997). For example, when a person is thirsty their brain signals the muscles in the arm and hand to pick of a glass of water and bring it toward the …show more content…
Medications and therapy are being used to increase the quality of life of patients suffering from ALS. The medication Riluzole, approved in 1995, was brought to the market to increase the life span of suffering patients, with an average prolonging of two to three months (Bosch, 2014). The hope for future treatment would be another drug that is synergistic with Riluzole and has the ability to cause a standstill in the disease process during the beginning stages (McGoldrick, 2013). As this disease progresses, it take control away from the patient. Therapy is used to help them regain partial control and a minimal amount of strength back. This degenerative disease is irreversible, ultimately takes over the body, and ceases all movement rendering the patient incapable of necessary movements to stay