ALS Full Form

ALS Full Form

ALS is Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is a not so common neurological disease. It impacts the neurons that are the nerve cells. The nerve cells have the primary function of controlling the voluntary movement of the body. The voluntary movement is the movement that we choose to do by ourselves. These are controlled by voluntary muscles. Voluntary muscles are responsible for movements like talking, walking, chewing, lifting hands and legs etc.

What Is The Early Sign Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?

The early sign of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis comprises stiffness and muscle weakness. Slowly all the voluntary muscles get affected by ALS. People lose their ability to move, breathe, eat and speak. They lose the strength of their body. People who suffered from ALS die within 5 years mainly due to failure of the respiratory system. 

What Is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?

ALS is progressive which means that it affects people with time. Presently ALS has no ultimate treatment. Medical science has come up with no particular treatment that can stop the progression of ALS. 

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a part of motor neuron disease. It is due to degeneration of the motor neurons which ultimately leads to the death of these neurons. The motor neurons are primarily the nerve cells that originate from the brain and go to the spinal cord and then to the muscles in the body. When the motor neurons degenerate, they are unable to send messages to the body. In this way, the tissue starts to weaken, which leads to twitch and atrophy. The nerve cells are finally unable to initiate involuntary movement in the body.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was earlier called Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was named because of the renowned ballplayer who had to retire because of ALS in the 1940s.

Symptoms Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

In the initial status, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis doesn’t show very prominent symptoms. With passing time the symptoms grow and bring weakness and difficulty in movement.

Initial symptoms include the following:

• Muscle cramps
• Muscles twitch in the shoulder, tongue, leg, hand, etc
• Stiff muscles and weakness in legs, diaphragm or neck
• Slurred Speech

The very first symptom of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is generally seen in the arm. This is marked by difficulty in doing daily chores such as writing, locking the door, wearing a shirt, putting on a hook, etc.

In many cases, it affects one part of the leg. People often notice weakness while running or doing exercise. The symptoms that begin in the legs and arms are known as a limb onset. When the symptom is seen while talking or in speech it is termed the bulbar onset. 

With the progression of the disease, atrophy enters all parts of the body. The muscle weakness becomes more prominent. These are the following:

• The problem of swallowing known as dysphagia
• The problem of speaking known as dysarthria
• The problem of speaking known as dysarthria
• The problem of breathing known as dyspnea

Conclusion 

ALS affects the neurons in the brain. It is responsible to send messages to the musicALS of the body. The voluntary movement is primarily caused by these messages from the brain. The voluntary movement is the movement that we choose to do by ourselves. These are controlled by voluntary muscles. Voluntary muscles are responsible for movements like talking, walking, chewing, etc. 

People who suffer from ALS also undergo difficulty in eating food. This can be both, chewing or swallowing it. This makes it difficult for them to have a proper diet. They burn calories more rapidly than other people who don’t have ALS. Because of these reasons, people who suffer from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis lose weight very easily. They ultimately enter the zone of malnutrition.

People with ALS also have breathing problems and might need a ventilator. They have a risk of pneumonia. They also have nerve damage or never the disease.