ALS

What is ALS? You may have heard about ALS as a result of the recent “Ice Bucket Challenge,” which helped to increase awareness of this devastating condition and to raise funds for increased research and support. ALS, known informally as “Lou Gehrig’s disease”, is a neurodegenerative disease caused by destruction of motor neurons, which are cells of the nervous system which transmit signals to your muscles to control movement. This damage leads to muscle weakness and atrophy (i.e. wasting/shrinking). In patients with ALS, weakness begins in the extremities (i.e. arms and legs) and eventually …

What Are Neurodegenerative Diseases? Neurodegenerative diseases are those which result mainly from dysfunction of the central nervous system (the CNS, made up of the brain and spinal cord) as a result of damage to neurons, the primary cells of this system that communicate with each other to send signals throughout the brain and body. Damage to neurons of the CNS can result in a decreased ability to send signals to the peripheral, autonomic, and enteric nervous systems, which make it possible for us to move, touch, digest, breathe, react to and sense our environment, …