Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Muscular Atrophy: An Annotated Bibliography

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Muscular Atrophy: An Annotated Bibliography

Abramovitz, Melissa. "Lou Gehrig's Disease" p17-61. Treatment for ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease has found that Vitamin E and the drug known as Riluzole can help the progression of the disease. When taking the medication Riluzole it has shown to prolong survival in patients by two to three months and it has also delayed the use for breathing support. There is a few side effects to taking Riluzole, such as headache, dizziness, fatigue, and it has also shown that it can do damage to your liver and kidney's. There is no cure for ALS, but researchers are trying to find out what actually causes this disease and how they can cure it.

Aebisher, Patrick. "Playing Defense against Lou Gehrig's Disease" Scientific American, Nov2007: p86-93. Lou Gehrig's Disease which is a progressive neuromuscular disorder, which attacks nerve cells that lead from the brain and the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body. When motor neurons die, the brain can no longer control muscle movements; in the later stages of the disease, the patients become totally paralyzed. About 5000 people in the United States are diagnosed with ALS every year. It typically develops between ages 40 and 70, but it is known to strike younger and older patients as well. An unusual cluster of patients with the disorder are among those are veterans of the Persian Gulf war and residents of the island Guam.

ALS: Association Fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease 2004. Initial Symptoms of the Disease

< http//www.alsa.org >.This website is the national website for ALS. It discusses the initial symptoms of the disease and how to find out if you have the disease. It states "muscle weakness in one or more of the following: hands, arms, legs or the muscles of speech, swallowing or breathing". Muscle weakness is one of the top symptoms with this disease. Association Mission statement is as follows, " To lead the fight to cure and treat ALS through global, cutting-edge research and to empower people with Lou Gehrig's disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support."

"Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis".2004. CNN Online.3Dec2004.

This article discusses that there are two ways you can get this disease it is either by Inherited ALS or Sporadic ALS. In all the articles that were read about this disease very few mentioned how this disease is contracted. Researchers say that 10 percent of cases of ALS appear to be inherited due to some form of gene mutation. Sporadic ALS , more than 90 percent of cases of ALS appear to occur randomly, with no identifiable risk factors. Majority of the articles say they don't know how this disease comes about and why people get it.

Encyclopedia Britannica 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 13 2007. Muscle disease: Muscle weakness, Classification of muscle weakness, and lower motor neuron disease>http://www.brittannica.com/eb/article-58886.

This article seeks to define that diseases of the peripheral nerves can also produce symptoms similar to the motor neuron disease such as ALS. "Sensory disturbance due to involvement of the nerve fibres carrying sensory impulses is usually involve." Affected individuals are between ages 50 to 70 years of age and have upper and lower motor neuron weakness. Paralysis progresses rapidly, and death often occurs with three years of diagnosis.

Encyclopedia Britannica 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 13 2007."Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis"http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9007301

Approximately 10 percent of ALS cases are hereditary. A defect in the gene that produces the enzyme super oxide dismutase, which eliminates free radicals from the body's cells, is responsible for the heredity form of ALS. Free radicals are molecular by-products of normal cell metabolism that can accumulate and destroy cells. Genetic screening can determine potential carriers of the gene in families with a history of ALS.

Hains, Bryan C. Brain Disorders Published in 2006. p28

One way to test for ALS is by doing a simple test known as the Babinski's sign. Which is damage to the corticospinal tract or incomplete myelination of the nervous system, as is the case with infants., produces Babinski's sign, an abnormal response in which the toes flare and the great toe moves in an upward direction when the sole of the foot is rubbed. In an normal test the toes point down towards the floor.

Kugler, Mary RN. About.com (2001). National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://rarediseases.about.com/od/rarediseases/a/090701.htm

This article discusses several things about the disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It discusses what muscles in the body are affected, if any mental changes will happen, who gets this disease, what actually causes the disease, symptoms, and diagnosis, treatment if any, and what future research is being done on finding a cure and how to treat this deadly and progressive disease.