For starters...
                        
        Lou Gehrig, one of Major League Baseball's finest players of all time.  It was his extremely low batting average and his overall weakness that prompted medical attention. This would in turn bring national - even global - attention to the disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis  in 1939.  
        But what is amyotrophic later sclerosis?  ALS is a fatal neurological disease.  It targets and attacks nerve cells, also called neurons, which are responsible for controlling voluntary muscles.  Many ALS patients ultimately lose control of their muscles with time, however, as you scroll down you will see that there are different ways to potentially go about alleviating such symptoms that have proven clinically inevitable.
         

Who gets ALS?    
       
        There are no concrete causes of ALS, however, it is known that five to ten percent of ALS cases are inherited and thus many neurologists and scientists in related fields agree that such statistics define ALS as hereditary.  More than 30,000 people suffer from ALS in the United States today, with about fourteen people diagnosed with the disease each day. Most individuals who develop the disease are between 40 and 70 years of age.  It has also been proven that men are 1.5 times more likely to develop ALS than women. Decades of clinical study on ALS have shown race and ethnicity to be inconsequential in terms of ALS contraction.


What are the symptoms?
       
        Similar to most fatal, neurological diseases, ALS patients can potentially suffer from numerous symtoms, the majority of which are listed directly below:

-Tripping and falling
-Loss of motor control in hands and arms
-Difficulty speaking
-Problems swallowing and/or breathing
-Continual fatigue
-Chronic twitching and cramping

It is important to note that the quantity and severity of these symptoms vary according to accessibility and effectiveness of treatments.  Fortunately, ALS does not affect a patient's mind.  However, both the brain and the spinal cord lose their abilities to send messages  to muscles in the body.  This sadly results in gradual atrophy, or muscle loss by means of deterioration.  It is also important to note that the start of ALS can be quite subtle.  Initial symptoms may simply be weakness in affected muscles.  Additionally, arms and legs do tend to tire to varying degrees, but logically more and more over time as total muscle mass decreases.
  

Are there any available treatments for ALS patients?
       
        There are, in fact, treatments available that have proven to be quite effective in alleviating or at least limiting the symptomatic effects of ALS.  Many doctors prescribe Rilotek (generic Rilozole) to their ALS patients.  This drug has clinically proven to be most effective among patients who suffer from acute swallowing pains and other related problems.  It can prolong survival by several months.  
                     
    Other treatments are indeed available to ALS patients.  These treatments more specifically target the quality of life rather than the amount of time a patient can survive.  Such treatments include healthcare professionals such as pharmacists and physicians; physical, occupational and speech therapists; nutritional experts and hospice nurses.  ALS patients should, if at all possible, take advantages of the services offered by these healthcare professionals.  Oftentimes, pursuing the latter of the two treatment routes turns out to be more beneficial to ALS patients in that they receive better one-on-one care and attention.


Where you should go from here!