ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease By: Nathaniel Baughman

History and Overview ALS was first discovered in 1869 by a French Neurologist Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Jon Stone, David Niven, Ezzard Charles, Glenn Montgomery, Jacob Javits all are famous people with ALS ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS is basically when the muscles lose their nourishment which can lead to other problems. The picture to the right shows what areas of the body ALS affects.

Diagnosis The diagnosis consists of a complete neurological examination and clinical tests. The neurological exam usually shows evidence of muscle weakness if they have ALS There are two tests that they do: A nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and a electromyography (EMG)

Transmission 90% of people that have ALS have a family with no history of ALS. The other 10% do. If the gene is inheritance from there parents then they most likely got the gene through autosomal dominant. Which means that there is the same chance for man and woman to get the disease This is because the ALS gene is carried on a numbered chromosome which is shared equally between man and woman.

Symptoms Muscle weakness in hands, arms, legs or the muscles of speech, swallowing or breathing. Twitching or Cramping of muscles (especially in hands or feet) Impairment of the use of the arms and legs "thick speech" and difficulty in projecting the voice In more advanced stages, shortness of breath, difficulty in breathing and swallowing

Treatment The most common treatment is a drug called rilutek. The most common side affects of rilutek are weakness, nausea, lung function decrease, a mild liver disorder that is typically temporary, and headache. Rilutek is a pill that is the best way to help with ALS Other pills are out there to help with ALS, but they don’t work as well as Rilutek does.

Sources disease.html KEN=84f015546da8e74c-CC B-2E62- 80BCE739B08C71B4 OKEN=84f015546da8e74c-CC B-2E62- 80BCE739B08C71B4