ALS is a disease that affects the Motor Neurons. Those who have the disease will slowly lose control of their body eventually becoming paralyzed.
Signs of ALS include:
Weakness in the muscles of the arms and legs
Weakness in the muscles used in swallowing or speaking
Twitching (fasciculation-Fa-cic-u-la-tion)
Impairment of the use of arms and legs
Cramping
Difficulty in projecting your voice
More advanced symptoms include:
Shortness of breath
Difficulty swallowing
Pseudobulbar affect (PBA)
Since ALS affects the motor neurons, all symptoms deal with the strength or ability to control your muscles. For example muscle weakness, is caused by your muscles atrophying. Twitching is caused by a disruption in the signal of the nerves, which contain neurons, and muscles. Breathing and swallowing both rely on the use of muscles to contract. When the muscles become weak, it can become difficult to swallow and breath. Interestingly, since ALS affects the motor neurons, the 5 senses remain unaffected. What is the Pseudobulbar Affect? The pseudobulbar affect is characterized by uncontrollable laughter or crying. The relationship between ALS and PBA is not fully understood. One theory suggest that it has to do with motor neurons pathway from the upper brain to the lower brain (bulbar). These pathways regulate emotions and as ALS progresses it can cause a disconnect creating these uncontrollable emotions.
Symptoms Vary Symptoms can vary greatly amongst those afflicted with ALS. Individuals could experience clumsier than usual movement, like tripping over a rug with regularity, indicating impairment of their extremities. Another individual could experience slurred speech. Common Symptom Weakness in the muscles is a common indicator of ALS. According to the ALS Association, this symptom occurs in 60% of those with the disease. Progression of the disease can vary between individuals as well. However, most of the people who have ALS will experience muscle weakness and eventually paralysis. The average life span of someone who has been diagnosed with ALS is between 3-5 years.
Diagnosis Since there is such a wide range of symptoms that can be everyday normal occurances and they can vary from person to person, ALS can be hard to diagnose. However, there are several tests that need to be done in order to diagnose the condition. These diagnostic tools are determined by the physician and include:
electomyography (EMG) and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) (tests for the communication of your nerve cells
Blood and urine samples
spinal tap
x-rays, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)