A.L.S. stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a neurorological disorder that attacks the motor neurons that enable communication between the brain and control of a person's voluntary muscles. No one knows the cause of ALS. There are many researchers with different theories. There is no cure. In 50% of people the average life span is 3-5 years after diagnosis. Only 8% live over 10 years and there is even a question on quality of life for many are on permanent ventilation. No two cases are alike. Progression can be rapid, and then it can level off, and then start again.I will use an example with something almost common to everyone these days, a cell phone. When you have a good connection, you can speak and hear the other person clear from coast to coast. You can do this because of the network of towers across the nation. With A.L.S., the motor neurons are the towers. They stop receiving signals and they control the muscles. The body still finds way to get through to muscles but it is delayed. It is like calling from Florida to California, but by way of New York, Chicago, Denver then Los Angeles. People cannot live without water and muscles cannot not live without communication. Once the motor neuron that controls a muscle group stops receiving messages, the muscles in that area die. It is like you experience bad spots with your phone.

ALS, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease or motor neuron disease, is a rapidly progressive fatal neuromuscular disease. It is characterized by degeneration of a select group of nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord, which lead to progressive paralysis of the muscles.

ALS can strike anyone. ALS is not contagious, does not discriminate, and can strike at any age. ALS most often occurs between the ages of 40 and 70, but it can also occur in older and younger adults, and rarely in teenagers (Mitsumoto and Munsat, 2001). ALS is usually fatal within two to five years of diagnosis. There is a hereditary pattern in about 5 -- 10 per cent of cases.