Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), sometimes referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive fatal neuromuscular disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurons, among the largest of all nerve cells, reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body with connections to the brain. When they die, the ability of the brain to start and control muscle movement …

…se nerves become dysfunctional you may see muscle fasciculations. When symptoms begin in the arms or legs it may be referred to as "Limb Onset ALS." To make matters a little more complicated, there is a special subset of nerves that come directly from the brainstem and control specialized functions like speech and swallowing. When symptoms arise from these nerves they may be referred to as "Bulbar" symptoms. Bulbar is a traditional term for brainstem.