Is a disease in which the function or structure of the affected

tissues or organs increasingly deteriorate over time, whether due

to normal bodily wear or lifestyle choices such as exercise or

eating habits

often contrasted with infectious diseases

A. AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS)

from the Greek words:

a – no

myo – muscles

trophic – nourishment

lateral – side of the spinal cord

sclerosis – hardening or scarring

Charcot disease

– (French)

named after

Dr. Jean-Martin

Charcot(1869)

Lou Gehrig's disease – (USA) named

after Lou Gehrig, a hall of fame baseball

player for the New York Yankees(1930)

Motor Neuron Disesase(MND)

(England and Australia)

=> it damages the

motor neurons in

the brain and

spinal cord

*motor neurons

are the nerve cells

that controls

muscle movements

Cause:According to ALS Association most people who develop the disease were adults between 40-70

2out of 100 people each year get the disease

half of all people with ALS live at least 3years after they found out they have the disease

20% or 1 in 5 live 5 years or more

10% will survive more than 10years

5-10% hereditary; which means the disease runs in the family, called familial ALS

90% is not inherited, this is called sporadic ALS

Potential Causes: Occupation(chemical exposure, electromagnetic field, physical trauma, electric shock) but without consistent findings

**Generally the cause of the disease is unknown.

Symptoms:

leg-onset form - may experiences awkwardness in walking or running

arm-onset form – may experience difficulty with tasks requiring manual dexterity

bulbar-onset – difficulty speaking clearly or swallowing

respiratory-onset - muscles that support breathing are affected first

* Patients may ultimately lose the ability to initiate and control all voluntary movement, most patients are not able to walk or use their hands and arms, but will maintain hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste.

Treatment:=( There's no way to prevent or cure ALS, but

treatments are available to people with the

disease:

Medicine: Riluzole or Rilutek it can slow the

development of the disease but does not

reverse the damage already done to motor

neurons.

*Patients must be

monitored for liver

damage(10%).

Therapy: physical therapist can set goals and

promote benefits by delaying loss of strength,

maintaining endurance, limiting pain,

preventing complications and promoting

functional independence(aerobic exercise

and performing activities of daily living;

walking, swimming, stationary biking)

speech therapists teach strategies or techniques to help patients speak louder and clearly or recommend use of augmentative and alternative communications(voice amplifiers, speech generating device or voice output communication

devices)

and low tech

communication

techniques

(alphabet boards,

yes/no signals)

The following gestures are an easy way

to quickly communicate with ALS

patients.

Eyebrows Up I’m interested, tell me more

Eyes Up

Yes

Hard Blink

No

Eyes Closed for a moment I need a break or rest

Multiple Blinks I need something

Breathing Support - ventilator can ease

problems with breathing and prolong

survival, it does not affect the progression

of ALS

Nutrition: prepare numerous small meals that

provide enough calories, fiber, and fluid; avoid

foods that are difficult to swallow

feeding tube may be advised by doctors when

patients can no longer get enough nourishment

from eating, it reduces the risk of choking and is

not painful

research has found out that people who ate

fruits and vegetables containing carotenoids

had reduced chance of developing ALS(carrots,

watermelon, and tomatoes)

Notable Case: Lou Gehrig

Stephen Hawking – famous physicist who furthered our

understanding of the universe

B. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE named after the

German scientist and neuropathologistAloysius Alzheimer(1901)

is the most common form of dementia

there is no cure for the disease, which worsen as it progresses and eventually leads to death

diagnosed most often in people over 45-65

years of age

life expectancy 7 years, less than 3% live

more than 14years

in 2006, there were 26.6 million people

worldwide with AD

is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally

by 2050

men have a less favorable survival than

women

2 Division:

a. Early onset- it happens before the age of

65

b. Late onset- symptoms started after 65

Causes:

Alzheimer cases is mostly unknown

Hypothesis: 1%-5% genetic, exposure to air

pollution and smoking

Treatment:There is no cure for Alzheimer's. Treatments can be divided into

three:

Pharmaceutical – medications are currently used to treat AD, yet

the benefit from their use is small. No medication has been clearly

shown to delay the progression of the disease. Side effects are

nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, decreased heart rate,

decreased appetite and weight, and increased gastric acid

production.

Psychosocial- used as an adjunct to pharmaceutical treatment, it

can reduce problem in behavior such as wandering. ex. Music

therapy

Care giving - the role is taken by the spouse or a close relative

Notable

Cases:

former US

President

Ronald

Reagan

C. PARKINSON'S DISEASE

is a disorder of the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord and controls everything you do including moving

first describe as “shaking palsy” by English physician, Dr. James Parkinson(1817)

about 1million people in US have the disease both men and women

Causes

low dopamine level

in the brain but no

one really knows

why the nerve cells

that produce

dopamine get

damaged and die

environmental

factors; pesticides or

other chemicals

Symptoms: Symptoms usually appear when someone is

older than 50.

tremors or trembling – shaking hands

difficulty maintaining balance and coordination – trouble standing or walking

slowness

overtime a person may have trouble smiling, talking or swallowing- their faces may appear flat or without expression

sometimes have trouble thinking and remembering

* it develops slowly, most people can live a long life

Treatment:

a. levodopa/l-dopa increases the

amount of dopamine in the body and

has shown to improve a persons

ability to walk and move around

*Side effects: nausea, vomiting and

fainting;

Notable Cases

Michael J. Fox – actor

Muhammad Ali – boxer

Coach Freddie Roach – boxing coach

Love and Other Drugs - starring Anne

Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal