Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons, leading to their degeneration and death. This causes muscles to weaken and atrophy, resulting in paralysis. Eventually, respiratory muscles are affected and the disease becomes fatal. ALS has causes linked to glutamate toxicity, mutations in the SOD1 gene, and oxidative stress damaging motor neurons. There is no cure for ALS and available treatments can only moderately slow progression of the disease.

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2. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Affects voluntary muscle control by attacking
motor neurons
• The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons
in ALS eventually leads to their death
• Due to the death of motor neurons, the brain can
no longer communicate with muscles in the body
• In time, muscles weaken and atrophy leading to the
patient becoming paralyzed
• Disease becomes fatal as the muscles used for
respiration are affected.

4. Lou Gehrig
Born June 19, 1903
Died June 2, 1941

5. • Glutamate toxicity is one possible cause for ALS

6. • Glutamate necessary for neural transmission
• Glutamate reabsorption facilitated by cell membrane protein
• People with ALS lack this protein
• Excess glutamate toxic to motor neurons

7. • Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase type 1 gene (SOD 1) is responsible
for converting superoxide anions into Hydrogen Peroxide
• Mutation in SOD 1 gene prevents this conversion

8. Mutant SOD 1 genes become toxic to
motor neurons due to an increase in
oxidative stress,

12. ALS causes a breakdown in the motor neurons,
Or pathways between the brain and spinal
Cord and the muscles of the body

14. Who Gets ALS?
• 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year.
(That's 15 new cases a day.)
• Approximately 30, 000 people in the U.S. have ALS
• According to an ALS association database: 60% of
those diagnosed with the disease are men and 93%
are Caucasian
• Most people who develop the disease are between the
ages of 40 and 70
• ALS is 20% more common in men than women

15. Categorization of cognitive impairment among patients with ALS

16. • Muscle weakness in one or more of the
following: hands, arms, legs or the muscles
of speech,
• Difficulty swallowing or breathing
• Twitching (fasciculation) and cramping of
muscles, especially those in the hands and
feet
• Impairment of the use of the arms and legs
• “Thick speech" and difficulty in projecting
the voice
• In more advanced stages, shortness of
breath, severe problems with inspiration and
swallowing
Symptoms of ALS

17. Other common
symptoms of ALS:
There is no cure for ALS
And the available treatments are
Only moderately effective

19. Wednesday, Susanne and I
performed a portable chest exam on
a patient with Parkinson’s disease,
A close cousin to ALS

20. “The length of the metacarpal bones in the palm of the hand — not the wrist or
finger bones but the bones between them — depends on the amount of
testosterone in the body during development. ‘If you're exposed to a lot of
testosterone in utero, your ring finger is long compared to the index finger, and
it's longer in men than in women.’( Anderson, 2011)"

23. Methods of treatment
Riluzole
Physical therapy
Gastrointestinal therapy
Respiratory therapy

24. Since July 29, 2014, The ALS Association
has received $115 million in donations!
• Began as a dare
among pro athletes.
• Golfer Chris Kennedy
was the first to focus the
challenge on ALS

26. • http://www.stem-cell-
regeneration.com/images/sampledata/als_stem_cell.jpg
• http://phillysportshistory.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/06/lou_2.jpg
• http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/lou-
gehrig-426x540.jpg
• http://media.hamptonroads.com/cache/files/images/blogs/200841.j
pg
• http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v7/n9/images/nrn1971-f1.jpg
• http://i.ytimg.com/vi/s0xRp7oYSkU/hqdefault.jpg
• http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v14/n4/images/nrn3430-f1.jpg
• http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v14/n4/images/nrn3430-f1.jpg
• http://img.medscape.com/article/755/622/755622-fig2.jpg
• http://biotuesdays.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ALS.gif
• http://thehealthsuccesssite.com/images/muscle-als.jpg
• http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1006/hand_pic.JPG
• https://s3.amazonaws.com/pharmacytimes/n_media/image/HSlouG
ehrigsTable1.jpg
• http://blog.patientslikeme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/als-
symptoms-chart.jpg
References

27. • http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bIaJz8SMHHw/0.jpg
• http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00bKETAOLzaRka/300ma-
High-Frequency-X-ray-Machine-YZ30G.jpg
• http://radioactivityci2010.pbworks.com/f/1290796905/Wisconsin-
MRI-machine.jpg
• http://www.radiology-equipment.com/instrumentpics/lsplus.jpg
• http://medchrome.com/wp-
content/uploads/2010/06/electromyographyemg.jpg
• https://sites.google.com/a/conncoll.edu/neurobiology-of-
disease/home/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als---kelsey-fredericks-
and-paige-landry/als-results-graph.gif
• http://www.leepbook.com/imagesuploads/8355_Lou-Gehrigs-
Disease-Amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis.jpg
• http://saypeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Amyotrophic-
Lateral-Sclerosis-ALS.png