What is Lou Gehrig’s disease

Do you know about Lou Gehrig’s disease? The name of this disease get from patient named Lou Gehrig, a former great American baseball player. One of famous scientist, Stephen Hawking are a victims of this disease.

The disease also called amyotrophic lateral, or ALS. It is a progressive neuromuscular disease that weakens and will destroys motor neurons. The cause of ALS is unknown until now but some researcher think it related to the physiology. Many cases do not have a family history of the disease, and their family members are not considered to get this disease.

Lou Gehrig’s Symptoms
The earliest symptoms may include cramping, twitching, or stiffness of muscles. These general complaints then develop into more obvious weakness. The muscles in the body will damaged after get affected by early symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease. They eventually become disabled, have difficulty speaking and swallowing, and may succumb to infections. Eventhough the victim paralyzes but they remain alert and able to think.

Lou Gehrig’s Treatment
There’s no really treatment for this disease. The researcher found drug called riluzole to reduce damage to neurons. There are some devices introduced to manage the patient to survive.
One of the tests, an electromyogram 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.

How Lou Gehrig’s damages your body

Lou Gehrig’s disease damages motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons are nerve cells that control muscle movement. Upper motor neurons send messages from the brain to the spinal cord, and lower motor neurons send messages from the spinal cord to the muscles. Motor neurons are an important part of the body’s neuromuscular system.

The neuromuscular system enables our bodies to move and is made up of the brain, many nerves, and muscles. Things that we do every day — like breathing, walking, running, lifting stuff, and even reaching for a glass of water — are all controlled by the neuromuscular system.

Over time, Lou Gehrig’s disease causes these motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to shrink and disappear, so that the muscles no longer receive signals to move. As a result, the muscles become smaller and weaker. Gradually the body becomes paralyzed (say: pair-uh-lized), which means that the muscles no longer work.

Source From NINDS
KidsHealth
Seek to your doctor if you have any progressive difficulty in carrying out a normal activity such as walking, writing, or swallowing, warrant an evaluation.

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