LS

Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Samantha Candela
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 283
Professor Hommelson
May 28, 2016
Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Lou Gehrig’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is commonly known as ALS. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord (2016). The body’s motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord then to the muscles throughout the body. In ALS the motor neurons slowly degenerate eventually leading to a person’s death. When the motor neurons die our brain loses the ability to initiate and control muscle movement. As the neurons die, a person’s body loses voluntary muscle action. This causes people to lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe. There are two different types of ALS, sporadic and familial. Sporadic is the most common form of the disease, with 90 – 95 percent of the cases (2016). Familial means the disease is inherited, accounting for 5 to 10 percent of the cases. According to The ALS Association a population study has show that a little over 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year (2016). 60% of the people with ALS are men and 93% are Caucasian. People usually develop ALS between the ages of 40 – 70, but has occurred when a person is in their twenties and thirties (2016). ALS is 20% more common in men than in women. Heredity is also a risk factor with 5 to 10 percent of people with ALS inheriting the disease (Mayo, 2014). A recent study has shown that people with familial ALS and non-inherited ALS have some of the same genetic variations (Mayo, 2014). Exposure to cigarette smoking, lead, and other metals have also been found as being a risk factor for ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is characterized by progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord (Coupe, Gordon, 2013). ALS