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Facts about ALS for Patients and Caregivers  General Information
Signs and Symptoms
Causes
Treatments
Prognosis
Further Information on ALS
General Information: - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was first described in 1869 by a French neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot.
- ALS is also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease in the United States.
- Most people afflicted with ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70. Men are affected slightly more frequently than women.
- ALS affects upper and lower motor neurons, which are the nerve cells that control voluntary movements of the throat, tongue, arms and legs.
- ALS does not affect a person's intellect, senses, heart, or bowel/bladder functions.
- In the United States, there are approximately 5,000 people diagnosed each year with ALS and 30,000 people with the disease at any given time.
- Sporadic ALS occurs in people without a family history of ALS.
- Familial ALS is due to a genetic inheritance.
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Signs and Symptoms: - Muscle weakness, primarily in the extremities
- Muscle atrophy
- Slurred or thickened speech and difficulty with projection of speech
- Muscle cramps and twitching (often observed in healthy people)
- Periods of uncontrollable laughing or crying
- As weakness worsens, a patient's swallowing and breathing often becomes impaired
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Causes: - There is no known cause or cure for this disease, but extensive research is underway to find a cure.
Treatments: - The goal in treating an ALS patient is to maintain functional independence and preserve quality of life.
- Rilutek (Riluzole) is the only FDA approved medication for ALS. The drug appears to prolong an ALS patient's life up to nine months longer. Rilutek can only be prescribed by a physician.
- Other medications and treatments can be prescribed to minimize symptoms commonly encountered by ALS patients such as muscle cramps, spasticity (stiffness), excess saliva, uncontrollable laughing or crying, depression, constipation, insomnia, anxiety, and weight loss.
- The ALS Clinic of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center uses a multidisciplinary team approach for the treatment of patients with ALS.
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Prognosis: - The average life expectancy is three to four years. Twenty percent of patients live five years and ten percent of patients will survive ten or more years.
Further Information on ALS: - Contact the ALS Association at 800-782-4747 or the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) at 800-572-1717.
- Contact the Jim "Catfish" Hunter Chapter of the ALS Association at 877-568-4347.
- Subscribe to the ALS digest online by sending an e-mail to Bro@met.fsu.edu
- See our Links to a variety of ALS-related sites
- Contact the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's ALS Clinic at 336-716-2309.
- Click here to view a lecture on Motor Neuron Diseases by Dr. James B. Caress of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
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