{"id":12425,"date":"2025-10-01T20:16:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=12425"},"modified":"2025-10-01T20:16:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:16:33","slug":"als","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/als\/","title":{"rendered":"ALS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12426 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731-300x260.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731-300x260.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731-1024x887.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731-768x666.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731-1536x1331.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731-346x300.jpg 346w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-1129371731.jpg 1860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS, is a neurological disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS causes loss of muscle control.<\/p>\n<p>ALS is often called Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it. There is no exact known cause of the disease. However, a small number of cases, about 10%, are inherited. For the other cases, there isn\u2019t a known cause.<\/p>\n<p>The symptoms of ALS can vary from person to person. Symptoms depend on which nerve cells are affected. ALS typically begins with muscle weakness that gradually worsens over time. Symptoms might include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Trouble walking or doing usual daily activities<\/li>\n<li>Tripping and falling<\/li>\n<li>Weakness in the legs, feet, or ankles<\/li>\n<li>Hand weakness or clumsiness<\/li>\n<li>Weakness associated with muscle cramps and twitching in the arms, shoulders, and tongue<\/li>\n<li>Untimely crying, laughing, or yawning<\/li>\n<li>Thinking or behavioral changes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ALS often starts in the hands, feet, arms, or legs, with muscle twitching and weakness in an arm or leg. It then spreads to other parts of the body, causing muscles to get weaker as more nerve cells die. The disease eventually affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, chew, eat, swallow, and breathe. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this fatal disease.<\/p>\n<p>There is generally no pain in the early stages of ALS. Pain is also not common in the later stages. ALS usually doesn\u2019t affect bladder control. And it also doesn\u2019t affect the senses, including the ability to taste, smell, touch, and hear.<\/p>\n<p>There are several risk factors for ALS, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genetics<\/li>\n<li>Age<\/li>\n<li>Sex<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Several environmental factors have been associated with an increased risk of ALS. They include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Smoking<\/li>\n<li>Environmental toxin exposure<\/li>\n<li>Military service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ALS can cause several complications as the disease progresses, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Breathing problems<\/li>\n<li>Speaking problems<\/li>\n<li>Eating problems<\/li>\n<li>Dementia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ALS can be hard to diagnose early because it can have similar symptoms to other diseases. Tests that can rule out other conditions or help diagnose the disease can include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Electromyogram (EMG)<\/li>\n<li>Nerve conduction study<\/li>\n<li>MRI<\/li>\n<li>Blood and urine tests<\/li>\n<li>Spinal tap<\/li>\n<li>Muscle biopsy<\/li>\n<li>Nerve biopsy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Treatments for ALS can\u2019t reverse the damage, but they can slow the progression of symptoms. They can also prevent complications and make you more comfortable and independent.<\/p>\n<p>You may need a team of healthcare providers and doctors trained in many areas to provide your care. This team will work together to prolong your survival and improve your quality of life. They will work to select the right treatment options for you.<\/p>\n<p>The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two medicines for treating ALS:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Riluzole<\/li>\n<li>Edaravone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are many forms of therapy and forms of support when ALS affects your ability to breathe, speak, and move. They include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Breathing care<\/li>\n<li>Physical therapy<\/li>\n<li>Occupational therapy<\/li>\n<li>Speech therapy<\/li>\n<li>Nutritional support<\/li>\n<li>Psychological and social support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you are experiencing any symptoms of ALS, you can consult with a neurologist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. To schedule an appointment, please call (718) 206-7246.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS, is a neurological disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS causes loss of muscle control. ALS is often called Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease after the baseball player who &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/als\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,198,1,61,14,863,399,4],"tags":[2230,2231],"class_list":["post-12425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-health","category-genetic-disease","category-health","category-lifestyle","category-mens-health","category-muscles","category-neurological-disorder","category-womens-health","tag-als","tag-neurological-disorder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12425"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12427,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12425\/revisions\/12427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}