Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis treatment

Symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis can also occur with other neurological diseases. Their presence and intensity depend on the individual and the course and severity of the disease. Symptoms include:

• Weakness and a subjective feeling of «heaviness» when walking or performing daily activities,
• Frequent falls and discoordination of movements,
• slurred speech and difficulty swallowing liquid and solid food,
• Muscle twitching in the arms, legs and tongue,
• Unmotivated laughter, crying and yawning,
• Disordered thinking and intellectual functions,
• Impairment of fine motor skills in the hands.

The true cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is still unknown. Scientists agree that ALS is the result of genetic pathological changes and environmental factors.

Many years of research have established a link between the development of ALS and a fault in the SOD1 and C9ORF7 genes. Abnormal functioning of the aforementioned genes results in the production of a protein that is toxic to motor neurons or impairs their regeneration.

Environmental factors can include exposure to toxic chemicals, particularly those used in warfare. Other preconditions for the development of ALS include heavy physical work. For this reason, ALS is more common in veterans and professional athletes.

The presence of one or more risk factors increases the chances of contracting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis during your lifetime. Risk factors for ALS include:

• Heredity. About 5% of patients will inherit the disease from their relatives,
• The peak incidence of ALS is between 40 and 60 years of age,
• Men are more likely to have the disease before the age of 65 than women,
• Smokers are more likely to have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The leading cause of death is respiratory failure. This is caused by atrophy of the muscles that normally carry out breathing.

As the disease progresses and motor neurons break down, patients may experience these complications:

Breathing problems

In more advanced stages, ALS can affect the respiratory muscles and the patient may have difficulty breathing at will. A special oxygen mask is recommended to avoid sleep apnoea (asphyxia), which keeps the pressure inside the lungs and allows the breathing act to continue during sleep.

Speech articulation disorder

The patient’s speech may range from a slurred pronunciation of certain words to a loss of the ability to pronounce words at will. During rehabilitation, the patient will work with a speech therapist and learn alternative communication skills.

Swallowing disorders

A patient may suffer from dehydration and malnutrition because of dysfunction of the muscles involved in the swallowing act. The pathological ingestion of food and fluid into the lungs leads to pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs).

The solution to this problem is a nasogastric tube, which fully covers the patient’s need for liquids and food.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis belongs to a large group of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system. This means that the symptoms of ALS are not always specific and can occur with other diseases:

• Metabolic myelopathy,
• Missile sclerosis,
• Kennedy’s amyotrophy,
• Spinal dementia,
• Benign fascioculation,
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

This is important to consider at the time of diagnosis as a correct diagnosis allows the selection of the correct therapy strategy.