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It is estimated that in the United States around 20,000 people suffer from natural and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and around 5,000 new cases occur annually. This order is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and it is a fatal and progressive neurological disorder. |
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis causes the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord and these are the cells that responsible for the voluntary movements. When a person gets amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the muscles controlled by these nerve cells tend to get weak. As a result the muscles start wasting or atrophying and this ultimately leads to paralysis.
A person suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis displays symptoms based on which muscles are affected. However, the most common symptoms seen in people are tripping, falling, losing control on the movement of hands and feet, having difficulties in breathing, speaking and swallowing, constant fatigue, and experiencing very painful cramps.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis usually affects person in mid-life and is more prevalent in males than in females. There is no cure for natural and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, the United States FDA has approved a drug named riluzole which prolongs the life of a person suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A person who gets amyotrophic lateral sclerosis usually dies within five years of being diagnosed with the disease.
Today, researchers are busy trying to find better treatment alternatives for people suffering with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and we all hope that they find a way to prevent and cure this rather painful and fatal disease.
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