Causes and Treatment of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Essay Example

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the New York Yankees first baseman, is a disease that affects the neuromuscular system of the body. In essence, ALS attacks nerve cells throughout the body; which leads to the eventual death of the brain and an inability to then control muscles. This means that toward the end of the disease, patients are paralyzed. People with ALS have some hope for the future as researchers in the field are in the early stages of developing certain beneficial treatments or therapies, that, while not a cure, may still prove worthwhile in helping to further progress ALS symptoms, and, researchers hope, prevent the disease’s onset. This paper will focus on how the disease is caused, how it progressives, and what forms of treatment are being researched, studied and practiced. This paper will be broken down into the following categories: how ALS functions as a disease, focusing on the differentiation between the different forms such as sporadic, familial; what specific parts of the body are targeted and how researchers are trying to retard the disease’s progress through the body (a study in motor neurons focusing on why certain neurons of the body are not effected such as the bladder, eyes, etc.), a patient’s senses; and finally how different countries are treating ALS (e.g. the U.S. has only one treatment for ALS which is found in riluzole). This paper will argue that treatment for ALS is on the cusp of finding something significant enough that a the life expectancy will improve from 3-5 years to several decades.

Works Cited

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Soumya, R. S. & Lansbury, P. T. “A Possible Therapeutic Target for Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” PNAS 101(16), pp. 5701-5702. 2004. Print.

Wang, S. “Deciphering Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” Wall Street Journal. 13 September 2011. Online.