What is Lou Gehrig's Disease

Lou Gehrig’s Disease

An overview of Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Lour Gerig’s Disease has derived its name from the Baseball player Lour Gerig who perished to the otherwise name of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the 1930s. Lou Gerig’s Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes harm to the nerves in the human body that hold power over muscle movement.  This disease has its impact on the brain and the spinal cord.  Lou Gerig’s disease is also known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

In this stage, motor neurons travel to spinal cord from the brain and from the spinal cord to the entire muscle part of the body. The disease picks up slowly affecting mere one limb and gradually engulfing to more number of limbs and muscles. Resultantly, the nourishment level of the muscles comes down leading to their impairment. 

The progressive deterioration in the count of motor neurons in ALS results in their extinction. Subsequently, the brain’s capacity to initiate and manage muscle movement is lost. As a result of voluntary muscle action getting affected progressively, patients in the succeeding stages of the disease may be hit with paralysis.

Nearly, every individual in the world suffers from this disease. However, in odd parts of the world, the incidence rate is much higher in countries like Guam, the Mariana Islands, and the Kii Peninsula of Japan. In comparison with women, men population suffer the most. According to a rough estimate, 90 percent of ALS victims’ life period is cut short within  three to five years from being hit with this problem.  

Tagline: Lou Gehrig’s disease is a type of serious disorder that starts slowly and weakens the muscles in the body and the sides of the spinal cord

Types of Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Lou Gehrig’s disease manifests in an individual in many ways. As such there are different levels of weaknesses. In some instances, it takes years together to get this disease noticed. Lou Gerig’s disease is sub-classified into:

● Sporadic

This is the most prevalent form of ALS in the US as 90 to 95% of all cases Sporadic-borne ones only.

● Familial

An individual tends to inherit this disease. However, familial disease is not one time occurrence as it returns to haunt an individual. A less percentage (5-10%) of population is bothered with familial disease.

● Guamanian

Guam and the Trust Territories of the Pacific in the 1950 were swept with a high frequency rate  of ALS.

Tagline: Sporadic is the most visible type of ALS in the US and no individual is immune to as it has the potential to affect anyone at any point of time. Further, it is not region-specific. In the worst cases of an individual, it can turn out to be disability factor.   

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Causes

The exact cause of Lou Gehrig’s disease is still a mystery. In 10% of cases, genetic defect is said to be the reason behind Lou Gehrig’s disease. A research is underway to find out the further impact of  below-mentioned factors that are said to be contributing to the problem of Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  

● High levels of glutamate (chemical that passes messages between nerves)

● Environmental factors like infections, toxic substances, and dietary deficiencies

● Neurotoxins

● Heavy metals

● DNA defects

● Aberrations in immune system

● Enzyme abnormalities 

● Animal remains and fertilizers

Tagline: There is no firm evidence to point to the factors that lead to the prevalence of Lou Gehrig’s Disease  

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Symptoms

This disease is seen in the individuals who are aged 50 and above. Muscles related to breathing or swallowing, legs, feet, hands, arms are the first ones to be affected because of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. However, this disease leaves untouched areas like vision,smell, taste, hearing, touch, bladder, or bowel function. Besides, the person’s ability to think or reason will not be affected in any way out of Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The common symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease are mentioned as under:

●  Uneasiness in breathing

●  Difficulty in taking food

●  Gagging and Choking

●  Drooping of head due to feeble spinal and neck muscles

●  Hampering of muscles 

●  Sudden loss of weight

●  Salivating

●  Muscle contractions

●  Muscle spasms

 ● Swollen legs, feet and ankles

 ● Hoarseness in voice

 ● Muscle tremors

 ● Shuddering and Tripping

 ● Loss of muscle tissue coupled with  twitching of the tongue

 ● Walking awkwardly 

 ● Uncontainable laughing or crying

 ● Losing balance while walking or standing

●  Phlegm

●  Hyperreflexia

●  Difficulty in performing minimal work tasks using the hands

Tagline: Due to weak muscles, the affected individual will not be in a position to take up regular work tasks such as going by staircase, getting out of a chair, or gulping down, lifting, and walking which all are clear symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Complications

An individual who is affected with Lou Gehrig’s Disease may exhibit complications such as:

● Pneumonia

● Pressure sores

● Loss of weight

● Malfunctioning of lungs

● Inability to care for self

How to diagnose Lou Gehrig’s disease

Before performing tests to the suspected individual, the doctor will ascertain the medical history of a patient covering the aspects of patient’s strength and endurance. There is no specific test that could determine the existence of Lou Gehrig’s disease. However, the below-mentioned kinds of tests are done routinely to detect the problem of Lou Gehrig’s disease.

●  Blood tests

●  Breathing tests to check whether the lung muscles are affected

●  Cervical spine CT or MRI to make sure that the individual carries no injury to the neck

●  Nerve conduction Test and Electromyogram  to know the functioning of nerves

●  Breathing Test to confirm whether long muscles are impacted in any way

●  Urine and Blood sample test

●  Muscle biopsy

●  Spinal tap

Genetic testing is performed to individuals in case he/she exhibits a family history of ALS. The following kinds of genetic tests are conducted to the affected individual:

● Head CT or MRI

● Nerve conduction studies

● Swallowing studies

● Spinal tap (lumbar puncture)

Tagline: In the absence of a right  detection method to establish the presence of Lou Gehrig’s disease, a combination of all the above-mentioned diagnostic methods will ensure in detecting Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Treatment

There is no established method to cure the disease of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Drug treatment is an effective way of restraining the severity of symptoms. ALS-affected patients who suffer from throat, tend to seek the medical advice of Otolaryngologists.

Taking the medicine called Riluzole may help in extending the lifespan, plugging the release of glutamate, but will cause side-effects such as dizziness, weakness, and elevated liver enzymes. Further, it does not have the power  to prevent the disease from getting worse. After all, the objective of treatment lies in controlling the symptoms of Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The other medicines which are useful in controlling spasticity are listed below:

● Baclofen or Diazepam

● Trihexyphenidyl or Amitriptyline may be given to the people who have a difficulty in swallowing their own saliva

● Stimulants to rein in fatigue

● Baclofen or Diazepam will help in controlling muscle spasms

● Minocycline holds the reputation of preventing the release of cytochrome  leading to prevention of  Lou Gehrig’s Disease

● Amitriptyline will be a cropper in checking the unwanted production of saliva besides  preventing choking

The below-mentioned treatment methods will go a long way in dealing with the patient’s progressive lack of muscle control:

● Physical Therapy/Rehabilitation

● Use of braces or wheelchair, or other orthopedic-related steps will equally help in increasing the muscle power

● Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) procedure through which a tube is inserted into the stomachs of the affected-individuals for feeding food. This is suggested to the people who are suffering from poor levels of  nutrition food

● Antidepressants to take care of depression and anxiety

Complementary treatments

In the early stages of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, if the following types of alternative therapies, in conjunction with regular medical treatments, are performed then it may yield the better results. The complementary treatments are covered with:

● Acupuncture

● Massage Therapy

● Yoga

Tagline: Drug treatment is the lone treatment available to the sufferers of Lou Gehrig’s Disease and Minocycline is assumed to be the safest  non-toxic drug  that helps in prevailing over Lou Gehrig’s Disease   

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Quick Statistics

● Lou Gehrig’s disease gets surfaced when an individual turns 55 years of age. The prevalence rate is 1.6 cases per 1,00,000 people.

● It is predicted that the survival rate for Lou Gehrig-affected individuals is 50% three years from being diagnosed with the same. In the subsequent period, i.e. after five years, the survival rate comes down to 20% and dips further to 10% after ten 10 years.

Tagline: The normal lifespan of Lou Gehrig’s Disease-affected individual is put at three years and the survival rate will come down gradually over a period of 10 years

Lou Gehrig’s Disease Side-effects  

● Muscles comprising the feet, hands, and limbs get incapacitated leading to paralysis

● Subsequent to the impairment of muscles related to the diaphgragm, chest,  the patient may find it difficulty in taking breathing with out being supported by ventilator equipment

Tagline: Lou Gehrig’s Disease will have an adverse effect on muscle movement related to the limbs in the body besides causing breathing problems  

 Misconceptions and Facts surrounding Lou Gehrig’s Disease

There is an erroneous belief that Lou Gehrig’s disease will cripple the functioning of an individual’s brain/mind leading to stoppage of work. 

It is true that the communication abilities of an affected individual will be impaired following the breakdown of muscles related to speech, arm movement, breathing.

Tagline: It is a sheer myth that brain will cease to function because of the problem of Lou Gehrig’s Disease