Als how do you get it

What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis? What are the symptoms? Who gets ALS? How is ALS diagnosed? What causes ALS? How is ALS treated? What research is being done?

How can I help research? Where can I get more information? Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS is a rare neurological disease that primarily affects the nerve cells neurons responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement those muscles we choose to move.

Voluntary muscles produce movements like chewing, walking, and talking. The disease is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. Currently, there is no cure for ALS and no effective treatment to halt or reverse the progression of the disease. ALS belongs to a wider group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are caused by gradual deterioration degeneration and death of motor neurons.

Motor neurons are nerve cells that extend from the brain to the spinal cord and to muscles throughout the body. As motor neurons degenerate, they stop sending messages to the muscles and the muscles gradually weaken, start to twitch, and waste away atrophy.

Eventually, the brain loses its ability to initiate and control voluntary movements. Early symptoms of ALS usually include muscle weakness or stiffness. Gradually all voluntary muscles are affected, and individuals lose their strength and the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe. Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within 3 to 5 years from when the symptoms first appear. However, about 10 percent of people with ALS survive for 10 or more years.

The onset of ALS can be so subtle that the symptoms are overlooked but gradually these symptoms develop into more obvious weakness or atrophy. The first sign of ALS usually appears in the hand or arm and can show as difficulty with simple tasks such as buttoning a shirt, writing, or turning a key in a lock. In other cases, symptoms initially affect one leg. People experience awkwardness when walking or running, or they may trip or stumble more often. As the disease progresses , muscle weakness and atrophy spread to other parts of the body.

Individuals may develop problems with moving, swallowing called dysphagia , speaking or forming words dysarthria , and breathing dyspnea. Although the sequence of emerging symptoms and the rate of disease progression can vary from person to person, eventually individuals will not be able to stand or walk, get in or out of bed on their own, or use their hands and arms.

Individuals with ALS usually have difficulty swallowing and chewing food, which makes it hard to eat. It's not contagious, so you can't catch ALS from someone who has it. Lou Gehrig's disease is different for every person who has it. In general, muscle weakness, especially in the arms and legs, is an early symptom for more than half of people with ALS.

Other early signs are tripping or falling a lot, dropping things, having difficulty speaking, and cramping or twitching of the muscles. As the disease gets worse over time, eating, swallowing, and even breathing may become difficult. It may take several months to know for sure that someone has Lou Gehrig's disease.

The illness can cause symptoms similar to other diseases that affect nerves and muscles, including Parkinson's disease and stroke. A doctor will examine the patient and do special tests to see if it might be one of those other disorders. One of the tests, an electromyogram say: eh-lek-tro-MY-uh-gram , or EMG, can show that muscles are not working because of damaged nerves. Other tests include X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging MRI , a spinal tap, and blood and urine evaluations.

Sometimes a muscle or nerve biopsy is needed. A biopsy is when a doctor takes a tiny sample of tissue from the body to study under a microscope. Examining this tissue can help the doctor figure out what's making someone sick. It attacks the nerve cells that are used in voluntary muscle actions, known as motor neurons. These are actions that we can control, such as those in the arms, face, and legs.

Motor neurons are found in the brain and spinal cord. As ALS progresses, these cells degenerate and die. They stop sending messages to muscles. The brain can no longer control voluntary movement, and the muscles weaken and waste away. As ALS progresses, it affects all the voluntary muscles.

The person can no longer control their arms, face, and legs. In time, the inability to breathe unsupported can lead to respiratory failure. Half of all people with ALS will live for 3 years or more after diagnosis, but some live for longer. Around 20 percent of people will live 5 years or more after diagnosis, 10 percent will live for 10 years or more, and 5 percent will live for 20 years. Steven Hawking, the famous physicist, received a diagnosis of ALS aged 21 years.

Now well over 70 years old, he remains a leader in the field of science. It is unclear exactly what causes ALS. There are different types , according to their signs and symptoms and whether or not there is a clear genetic association.

ALS can be sporadic or familial. Sporadic ALS occurs randomly, and it accounts for 90 to 95 percent of cases. There is no clear risk factor or cause. Familial ALS is inherited. Around 5 to 10 percent of cases are familial. The child of a person with ALS will have a 50 percent chance of developing the condition. Rarely, it can affect a person in their teens. Researchers are investigating which genes are involved.

One study has reported that military personnel deployed in the Gulf region during the war were more likely to develop ALS than military personnel deployed elsewhere.

Clinical features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other forms of motor neuron disease. Van den Bos MAJ, et al. Pathophysiology and diagnosis of ALS: Insight from advances in neurophysiological techniques. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Elman LB, et al. Diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other forms of motor neuron disease.

Crockford C, et al. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Smoking may now be considered an established risk factor for ALS. Accessed June 29, Living with ALS resource guide 2. Accessed July 2, Brown AY. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. May 17,