Dana, Let's Cure A.L.S. In 2008!

I'd like to meet:

Music:

.. Clue and the Honkytones@Patsy's Cowgirl Cafe on FunnyOrDie.com ..

Movies:

Help us fight Lou Gehrig's disease!

Television:

Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewife's,

Heroes:

I Love You...Goodbye
..
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My Sister Paula, She has Scleroderma and she also fights to live her life every day. I love you Paula.
Every person that fights to live and breath each day with ALS.
.. Joe R. Meridith (my Dad) Died 4-14-1983 of ALS.
Roy Meridith (Dad's Dad) Died 1969 of ALS
Patricia Gaskins (Dad's Sister) Died 1-2007 of ALS.
Vernadean Hughes (Dads Cousin)Died 1-26-1998 of ALS.
Roger Pickett (Dad's Cousin) Died 2000 of ALS.
Thomas Meridith (Dad's Uncle) Died 1979 of ALS.
Betty Coleman (Dad's Cousin) Died 1998 of ALS.
Lou Gehrig first brought national and international attention to the disease in 1939 when he abruptly retired from baseball after being diagnosed with ALS.
But did you know that ALS has cut short the lives of other such notable and courageous individuals such as
Hall of Fame pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter
Senator Jacob Javits
actors Michael Zaslow and David Niven
creator of Sesame Street Jon Stone
television producer Scott Brazil
boxing champion Ezzard Charles,
NBA Hall of Fame basketball player George Yardley
pro football player Glenn Montgomery
golfer Jeff Julian
golf caddie Bruce Edwards
British soccer player Jimmy Johnstone,
musician Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter)
photographer Eddie Adams,
entertainer Dennis Day
jazz musician Charles Mingus
composer Dimitri Shostakovich
and U.S. Army General Maxwell Taylor.
Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with ALS. Every 90 minutes someone dies from ALS. There is no vocal group of folks with this horrendous illness because ALS robs them of their voice and their life too quickly. ALS is considered an "orphan" disease because of the paucity of funding and awareness. 90 minutes from now, it could be someone you love.
DEFINITION:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; pronounced ay-MY-eh-TRO-fik LA-ter-el skler-OH-sis) is a neurodegenerative disease. A neurodegenerative disease is one in which nerve cells are damaged or killed. In the case of ALS, the nerve cells that are damaged are motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells that control movement. ALS is also known as motor neuron disease and Lou Gehrig's disease. Lou Gehrig (1903–41) was a famous baseball player who died of the disease.
DESCRIPTION:
Under normal circumstances, muscles move because of messages sent from the brain through the spinal cord to the muscles. These messages are carried by motor neurons. In ALS, those motor neurons die off and messages from the brain to the muscles do not flow normally. Muscles do not respond when they are supposed to or as well as they should.
The death of motor neurons affects voluntary muscles. These muscles are controlled by conscious thought. They include muscles in the legs, arms, and trunk. These muscles normally move when a person wants them to move. As ALS develops, a person loses that control over these muscles.
ALS normally does not affect other kinds of muscles, such as those in the heart or digestive system. It also has no effect on the brain. Thus, ALS patients can usually think normally, although they lose the ability to move...
ALS affects approximately 30,000 people in the United States. About 5,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Most cases occur in people between the age of 40-70. Men are slightly more likely to develop ALS than women...
ALS usually progresses slowly. In about half of all patients, it causes death within 3 years. About 80% of all patients die in less than 5 years, and a small number (about 10%) survive more than 8 years...
CAUSES:
No one knows what causes ALS. One or more factors cause motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to begin dying off. Nerve signals can no longer travel from the brain to the muscles. The patient is unable to move normally and he or she becomes weaker. Disturbed nerve messages can cause abnormal muscle movements that result in twitching and spasms. As muscle cells are not used, they begin to die off. The amount of muscle tissue decreases, causing a condition known as wasting...
Researchers have been unsuccessful in finding the cause of motor neuron death. Additional research is now being conducted to find out more about the cause or causes of ALS.
Two major forms of ALS are known: familial and sporadic. About 10% of all ALS cases are familial. As the name suggests, familial ALS is thought to be caused by genetic factors. Scientists have found that 15% of the people with familial ALS have a mutation (change) in a gene known as SOD-1. A parent with this mutated gene can pass it on to his or her children...
Sporadic ALS has no known cause. Certain chemical factors in the body, such as free radicals, may be involved. Or it, too, may result from genetic factors...
SYMPTOMS:
The earliest sign of ALS is usually weakness in the arms or legs. This weakness tends to be more apparent on one side of the body than the other. Leg weakness may first become apparent by an increased frequency of stumbling on uneven pavement or difficulty in climbing stairs. Arm weakness may lead to difficulty in grasping or holding a cup, for instance, or loss of coordination in fingers...
Less commonly, the earliest sign of ALS is weakness in muscles of the mouth. This condition makes it difficult for the patient to chew, swallow and speak. He or she may become hoarse or tired after speaking or may have slurred speech.
Over time, ALS spreads to all voluntary muscle groups in the body. Later symptoms include loss of the ability to walk, to use the arms and hands, to speak clearly or at all, to swallow, and to hold up one's head. Weakness in the muscles of the respiratory (breathing) system can make breathing, coughing, and swallowing difficult. These conditions can result in the inhaling of foods or saliva (aspiration) which, in turn, can cause lung infections. Such infections are a common cause of death in ALS patients.
TREATMENT:..
There is no cure for ALS. There are also no treatments that can significantly alter the course of the disease. In 1998 a new drug, riluzole (trade name Rilutek) was approved for use with ALS patients. The drug somewhat reduces the loss of muscle strength. It can extend the life of an ALS patient for an average of three months. No other drug or vitamin has been found to have any effect on the progress of ALS.
In later stages of the disease, mechanical ventilators may be necessary. Mechanical ventilators help patients to breathe more easily and can help prevent aspiration. They can be inserted through the mouth or nose or though an opening in the throat. Modern mechanical ventilators are small and portable. They allow ALS patients some degree of freedom and mobility. Under the best of circumstances, ventilators are somewhat awkward and unpleasant devices. Some ALS patients choose to use them for only short periods of time or not at all.
Most ALS patients eventually require full-time nursing care. This care is not difficult to learn and can often be provided by family members. The physical and emotional burden for caregivers, however, can be enormous. They must learn to be aware of and to find ways of dealing with their own needs as well as those of the patient.
Support groups can help caregivers in this regard. Support groups consist of other people also working with ALS patients as well as professional counselors. Support groups are sponsored by both the ALS Society and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.