Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) topic includes research on the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the neurological disorder ALS, formerly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

ALS is a neurological disorder that affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing. As motor neurons degenerate and die, they stop sending messages to the muscles, which causes the muscles to weaken, start to twitch (fasciculations), and waste away (atrophy). Eventually, the brain loses its ability to start and control voluntary movements such as walking, talking, chewing, breathing, and other functions. ALS is progressive, meaning symptoms get worse over time.

Nearly all cases of ALS are considered sporadic; that is, they seem to happen at random with no clearly associated risk factors or family history. Familial cases (inherited) are associated with more than a dozen genes.

There is no treatment to reverse damage to motor neurons or cure ALS at this time.