Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) Each year about 5,000 people are diagnosed with the deadly disease called Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS. ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Yet one person has managed to survive for more than forty years with ALS. It is a disease that currently has no cure. ALS is a incurable disease that affects millions of people every year. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a part of rare neurological diseases in other words it is part of a group that attacks the motor neurons. It's not only the deadliest of the diseases but also the most common. Most victims live three to five years after being diagnosed with this deadly disease. About 15,000-20,000 Americans currently are affected by ALS. Nerves slowly die during the …show more content…
ALS or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease is a extremely deadly disease that slowly progresses and attacks the upper and lower motor neurons. Neurons are nerve cells that control voluntary movement. When these nerve cells are destroyed the brain loses the ability to control the muscles. Then the muscles can no longer move so they get hard and waste away. It usually starts in the limbs and moves to other parts of the body. Eventually it spreads to the lungs and eventually patients need breathing assistance to stay alive. Symptoms can vary from falling to not being able to pick up a pencil or to turn a key. Symptoms are not the same for all patients most patients don't follow the same progression patterns either. They all depend on the person and the severity of the case. Either way ALS is extremely deadly and unable to be treated. There are no specific reasons why humans get ALS but part of it can be in your genes or it could just be part of nature. ALS can be inherited from your parents or it can have no specific reason for occuring. One way you can get ALS is through your genes. The case can be familial which is passed through your family and to you. Ten percent of all cases are familial. The other ninety percent is sporadic which means that they have no obvious reason for occuring. This is all how nature works and how our complex bodies interact with