What happens when you have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

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asked Dec 10, 2019 in Diseases Conditions by cvanc98 (300 points)
What happens when you have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

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answered Dec 11, 2019 by GloriaBDavis (1,090 points)
When you have ALS your muscles become weak because your brain cannot send signals to your muscles to properly control them.

ALS causes motor neurons in your brain and spinal cord to break down and die and when the brain and spinal cord neurons break down they won't be able to send messages to your muscles anymore.

When your muscles don't get the signals your muscles become very weak.

And then you become unable to walk, talk and even breathe and when you cannot breathe you die within 5 years or so after being diagnosed with it.

ALS is also deadly and most people who do have ALS die within 5 to 10 years after diagnoses as there is no cure for ALS as of now.

Most people who are diagnosed with ALS or "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" inherit the disease from their parents or from someone else in their family.

The disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is usually caused by the bodies immune system attacking the bodies cells when it should not be.

When the immune system attacks the bodies cells the nerve cells are usually killed off.

When a person develops amyotrophic lateral sclerosis they have high levels of glutamate, a chemical messenger in the brain, near the motor neurons.

Most people who are diagnosed with ALS live on average of 5 to 10 years after the diagnoses.

There's no cure for ALS as of now so once you get it you won't live long after the diagnoses.

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