Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Injury Disease Nutrition Poison Symptoms Surgery Test Special Topic

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Central nervous system

Overview Symptoms Treatment Prevention

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease of the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It causes progressive loss of motor control.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is characterized by progressive loss of motor nerves in the spinal cord and brain. In about 10% of cases, ALS is caused by a genetic defect. In other cases, the cause of the nerve deterioration is unknown.

ALS affects approximately 1 out of every 100,000 people.

Except for having a family member affected with the hereditary form of the disease, there are no known risk factors.

Email this page  Printer friendly  Bookmark this page