12-12-2012, 09:39 AM
Hello Friends,
It all began in your brain, the starting point for an important chain of communication. Your brain ordered nerve cells, called motor neurons, to activate muscles in your hand and fingers. In this instance, your muscles responded, and your fingers moved.
In a person afflicted with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), there is a break in the chain of communication. The motor neurons degenerate and die. Because of the lack of motor neurons, the brain cannot communicate with the muscles, and voluntary muscle movement is no longer possible. Because the muscles are no longer used, they too begin to degenerate and weaken causing a wide range of disabilities.
ALS progresses rapidly and leads to paralysis. Often, the degenerating muscles in the chest and diaphragm cause a person with ALS to rely on mechanical ventilation for breathing, and most sufferers die of respiratory failure within three to five years from the onset of symptoms. Some sufferers have survived more than 10 years. Stephen Hawking, a world famous physicist, has lived with ALS for nearly 40 years. He was diagnosed with the disease at age 21. Since then, he has married, fathered three children, and written numerous books with the help of a special computer.
Thanks and Regards,
Lucy James
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