Lou Gehrig's Disease

Neuroscientists show 'jumping genes' may contribute to aging-related brain defects

As the body ages, the physical effects are notable; wrinkles in the skin appear, physical exertion becomes harder. But there are also less visible processes going on. Inside aging brains there is another phenomenon at work, ...

Neuroscience created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover new clues about how amyotrophic lateral sclerosis develops

Johns Hopkins scientists say they have evidence from animal studies that a type of central nervous system cell other than motor neurons plays a fundamental role in the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a ...

Neuroscience created Mar 31, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A treatment for ALS? Neural stem cell transplants slow progression of disease

(Medical Xpress)—Results from a meta-analysis of 11 independent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research studies are giving hope to the ALS community by showing, for the first time, that the fatal disease ...

Neuroscience created Jan 03, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Transplanted neural stem cells treat ALS in mouse model

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is untreatable and fatal. Nerve cells in the spinal cord die, eventually taking away a person's ability to move or even breathe. A ...

Medical research created Dec 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers uncover toxic interaction in neurons that leads to dementia and ALS

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have uncovered a toxic cellular process by which a protein that maintains the health of neurons becomes deficient and can lead to dementia. The findings shed new light on the link between ...

Medical research created Dec 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Common RNA pathway found in ALS and dementia

Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study, led by researchers at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, ...

Neuroscience created Sep 30, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify new gene that influences survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A team of scientists, including faculty at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), have discovered a gene that influences survival time in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). ...

Genetics created Aug 26, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New gene mutations linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and nerve cell growth dysfunction

Researchers have linked newly discovered gene mutations to some cases of the progressive fatal neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Shedding light on how ALS destroys ...

Genetics created Jul 15, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Decoding brain waves to eavesdrop on what we hear

Neuroscientists may one day be able to hear the imagined speech of a patient unable to speak due to stroke or paralysis, according to University of California, Berkeley, researchers.

Neuroscience created Jan 31, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Researchers rebuild the brain's circuitry

Neuron transplants have repaired brain circuitry and substantially normalized function in mice with a brain disorder, an advance indicating that key areas of the mammalian brain are more reparable than was ...

Neuroscience created Nov 24, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (20) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Implanted neurons, grown in the lab, take charge of brain circuitry

Among the many hurdles to be cleared before human embryonic stem cells can achieve their therapeutic potential is determining whether or not transplanted cells can functionally integrate into target organs or tissues.

Neuroscience created Nov 21, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Progression of Lou Gehrig's disease explained

Researchers in Uruguay and Oregon have discovered a previously unknown type of neural cell that appears to be closely linked to the progression of amytrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, that they believe will ...

Medical research created Oct 17, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Major breakthrough as researchers discover common cause of all forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The underlying disease process of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease), a fatal neurodegenerative disease that paralyzes its victims, has long eluded scientists and prevented development of effective ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Aug 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (16) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Scientists solve mystery of nerve disease genes

For several years, scientists have been pondering a question about a genetic disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease type 2D: how can different types of mutations, spread out across a gene, produce ...

Medical research created Jul 04, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Failure in nerve-fiber navigation corrected in zebrafish model, suggests possibility of drug treatment

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the leading genetic cause of death in children under 2, with no treatment other than supportive care. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Children's Hospit ...

Medical research created Jun 06, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease in American English and Motor Neurone Disease in British English, is a form of Motor Neuron Disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input. The condition is often called Lou Gehrig's disease in North America, after the New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939. The disorder is characterized by rapidly progressive weakness, muscle atrophy and fasciculations, spasticity, dysarthria, dysphagia, and respiratory compromise. Sensory function generally is spared, as is autonomic and oculomotor activity. ALS is a progressive, fatal, neurodegenerative disease with most affected patients dying of respiratory compromise and pneumonia after 2 to 3 years; although some perish within a year from the onset of symptoms, and occasional individuals have a more indolent course and survive for many years.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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