Lou Gehrig's Disease

Lou Gehrig's Disease: A cure?

Summary: Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, has symptoms of rapidly progressive weakness, muscle and nervous degeneration. This in turn leads to increased difficulty swallowing, speaking or even breathing. Most people die from failure of the respiratory system, and so the average death is around three years and three months after the symptoms start to show. ALS affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, this leads to the loss of muscle movement due to the motor neurons degenerating. Patients with Lou Gehrig's disease eventually become totally paralyzed in the later stages of the disease. Though now, a study from University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute has shown how ALS is transmitted from cell to cell. Which suggests that the disease can be blocked. The research has shown that the misfolded non-mutant superoxide dismutase or SOD1 can be transmitted from one region of the nervous system to another. Which in turn, explains the spread of ALS in the human body. Something else the research tells researchers is that the spread of ALS can be blocked by using antibodies. The antibodies would bind to regions of SOD1 when it becomes misfolded and stops the spread of the disease.

Relevance: This relates back to our studies in chapters 27, 28, and 30, since these chapters all talk about muscle movement, the respiratory system, and the nervous system. Lou Gehrig's disease is related to muscle movement because ALS has muscle degeneration as one of its symptoms. ALS relates to the respiratory system since people eventually die from failure of the respiratory system. Since the muscles of the neck swell, not allowing air to pass through. Lastly, is the nervous system which ALS affects the most. Due to the fact that it starts with a symptom where the nerves in the body are degenerating. Up to the point that the muscles can not be used. Another part is that Lou Gehrig's disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord where the most important motor neurons are.

Author: Macroevolution.net
Published: March 1, 2014
Link: http://www.macroevolution.net/lou-gehrigs-disease.html
By: Simin Li