Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The neurons that carry impulses from the brain to the muscles stop functioning, and patients begin experiencing general muscle weakness before having difficulty swallowing and speaking, and eventually, experiencing complete paralysis. While the muscles in the body deteriorate, the mind remains unaffected by ALS. After diagnosis, patients typically live for three to five years. ALS is 100% fatal.. There is no known cure, though there are drugs that can slow the progression of the disease.
Commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," ALS most often develops in patients between 40 and 70 years old. Most cases of ALS are sporadic, meaning it can affect anyone. However, five to ten percent of ALS cases in the U.S. are familial, meaning the disease is inherited. In this case, an individual has a 50% chance of inheriting the gene mutation that makes it more likely they will develop the disease. Though researchers are unsure why, military veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as non-servicemembers. Other well-known individuals diagnosed with ALS include Stephen Hawking, Charles Mingus, George Yardley, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Ezzard Charles, Tim Shaw, Steve Gleason, and O.J. Brigance.
While a cure for ALS remains elusive, researchers are making significant progress in understanding the disease and slowing its progression. Rizuole, the first and for decades the only FDA-approved drug, slows the progression of ALS in some patients. As of August 2017, a new FDA-approved Drug, Radicava, is available to patients and was shown to slow the progression of ALS by up to 33% in some patients.
100% of the money we raise here at the Walter Boughton Foundation goes to patient care at the Les Turner ALS Foundation and ALS research at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine.
