This document discusses amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which involves the progressive loss of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. It causes gradual muscle weakness, atrophy, and stiffness as well as difficulty swallowing, talking and breathing. Death usually occurs within 3-6 years after symptoms appear, most commonly from respiratory failure or pneumonia. The document also discusses physicist Stephen Hawking's diagnosis with ALS in 1963 and his exceptional longevity despite being given only a few years to live at that time.

1. UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN
AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL
SCLEROSIS.
STEPHEN HAWKING
by: DAVID MUNGUIA SAUCEDO

2. AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS.
Amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, also known as
Lou Gehrig's disease,
involves the progressive
loss of motor neurons (a
type of nerve cell that
controls the movements of
muscles) found in the
brain and spinal cord. It is
a progressive and
incapacitating disease
and, finally, mortal, whose
cause is not known.

3. IMPORTANT DATA
 It is estimated that more than 50% of motor neurons
are lost before symptoms, such as muscle
weakness, are evident.
 Gradual muscle weakness and atrophy of the arms
and legs.
 Muscular fasciculations (visible spasms in the
muscles).
 Difficulty swallowing, talking, and breathing.
 Muscle stiffness, body aches and cramps,
especially at night.
 Respiratory failure is the most common cause of
death in people with ALS. Other causes include
pneumonia. In most cases death occurs within
three to six years after the onset of symptoms,

4. DIAGNOSIS
The diagnosis is based on a detailed medical history, a physical
examination and laboratory analysis. Electromyography (EMG) * Nerve
conduction studies that assess nerve and muscle functions * are the
fundamental tests. Other tests may include blood tests and imaging
neurological studies such as a computed tomography and brain and
spinal cord. Molecular analysis, analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid or
muscle biopsies may be necessary.

5. TREATMENT
 Physical, occupational and speech therapies can contribute to daily
functions.
 Riluzole is the only drug approved for the treatment of ALS. May
prolong survival for a few months.
 Other medications may relieve symptoms, such as muscle pain,
cramps, drooling, spasms, and exhaustion..

6. STEPHEN
HAWKING
Theoretical physicist, astrophysicist,
cosmologist and British scientific
disseminator.

7. TRABAJOS
His most important work has
been to provide theorems
about spatiotemporal
singularities in the context
of general relativity, and the
theoretical prediction that
black holes emit radiation,
which is known as Hawking
radiation.
He is a member of the Royal
Society of London, the
Pontifical Academy of
Sciences and the National
Academy of Sciences of the
United States.

8. PREMIOS
Hawking has been honored with 12
honorary doctorate degrees and
awarded the Order of the British
Empire in 1982, the Prince of
Asturias Award for Concord in
1989, the Copley Medal in 2006, the
Freedom Medal in 2009 and the
BBVA Foundation Frontier Prize Of
knowledge in 2015.

9. HAWKING
& ALS
IN 1963, IN THE TRANSITION
OF AN ICE SKATING SESSION,
YOUNG STEPHEN AT THE AGE
OF 21 YEARS, HE SLACKED
AND HAD DIFFICULTIES TO BE
INCORPORATED. OF
IMMEDIATE WAS DIAGNOSED
OF AMIOTROPHIC LATERAL
SCLEROSIS (ELA).
THE DOCTORS HAD
SUPPORTED THAT THE
DISEASE WILL FINISH HIS LIFE
IN A FEW YEARS; HOWEVER,
THEY WERE WRONG.

10. YOUR
LIFE
FROM
NATURALLY THE LIFE OF
HAWKING WAS NOT THE
SAME AFTER THEN, BUT HIS
PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS WERE
NOT INTERRUPTED AT ANY
TIME HIS INTELLECTUAL
ACTIVITY.
NOR ITS LIFESTYLE, CASE 2
TIMES, ONE IN 1965 WITH
JANE WAYLINE AND IN 1995
WITH ELAINE MASON. HAVE 3
CHILDREN ROBERT, LUCY
AND TIMOTHY.

11. FIGHT AGAINST ALS
AS THE DISEASE STARTED IN ITS YOUTH STAGE, LIKE MANY DEGENERATIVE DISEASES,
PROGRESS IS VERY SLOW. ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO CONCLUDING TESTS IN THIS DIRECTION,
PRACTICE SUGGESTS THAT THIS IS AN INFLUENCING ASPECT.
THE CARE OF WHICH THIS PATIENT HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO THE LAKE OF TIME IS ALSO
IMPORTANT, BUT THE EXPERTS CONSIDER THAT THE MAIN ELEMENT RESIDES IN THE
BIOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF THEIR ILLNESS, THE FORM IN WHICH IT HAS BEEN GIVEN INTO
THEIR ORGANISM.

12. OTHER
CHARACTE
RS
FRANZ ROSENZWEIG (1886-1929),
PHILOSOPHER AND GERMAN
THEOLOGIAN.
DAVID NIVEN (1910-1983), UK
ACTOR.
MAO ZEDONG (1893-1976), CHINESE
DICTATOR.
LOU GEHRIG (1903-1941) AMERICAN
BASEBALL PLAYER, BY WHICH
NAME THE ILLNESS IS ALSO
KNOWN IN THE UNITED STATES.