Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or motor neurone disease (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the motor neurons of the Central and Peripheral Nervous System, resulting in degenerative muscle atrophy. It starts with numbness and weakness in one limb and ends in motor paralysis of the hands and/ or feet, inability to swallow and respiratory failure. Diagnosis may be reached by history and clinical examination and confirmed by electromyography. The main age of onset is 50 to 75 years, while after 80 years, the risk decreases dramatically.