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FACTS ABOUT AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS

I’m sorry, Mr. Stuart. You have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.” The doctor then gave me the dismal prognosis: Soon I would no longer be able to move or speak, and the disease would eventually take my life. “How much time do I have?” I asked. “Probably three or five years, I replied. I was just 20 years old. Yet, despite the sad news, I could not help but feel blessed in many ways.                                                                    WHAT IS ALS?   ALS [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis] is a disease that progress rapidly and attacks the motor neurons [nerve cells] in the spinal cord and lower brain. The motor neurons are responsible for transmitting messages from the brain to the voluntary muscles throughout the body. ALS causes the motor neurons to degenerate or die, leading to progressive paralysis. There are three common classifications of ALS: SPORADIC [the most common], FAMILIAL [about 5 to 10 percent