Obama was challenged last week by Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy. The White House announced that Obama declined to take the challenge, but would make a donation to an ALS charity.
The ice bucket challenge
Recently, the ALS Association have been attempting to raise awareness of ALS through the ice bucket challenge: a social media campaign that has spread across the world using the hashtags #icebucketchallenge, #alsicebucketchallenge, and #strikeoutals.
For the fundraising scheme, people are challenged to drench themselves using a bucket filled with ice and water or donate money to the charity. After an icy soaking, the individual is then able to nominate further people to take the challenge.
The ice bucket challenge has proven to be extremely popular, with a whole host of high-profile personalities ranging from Bill Gates to Lady Gaga taking part.
What is ALS?
ALS belongs to a group of diseases called motor neuron diseases. It is a disease that attacks the nerve cells that are used in voluntary muscle actions; actions that we can control such as those in the arms, face and legs.
These nerve cells are called motor neurons and are found in the brain and spinal cord. As ALS progresses, these cells degenerate and die, ceasing to send messages to muscles, which in turn causes them to weaken and waste away.
The brain's ability to control voluntary movement is lost, with all muscles under voluntary control affected as the disease progresses. As well as control of the arms, face and legs, ALS can cause people to lose the ability to breathe unsupported, often leading to respiratory failure.
ALS greatly reduces an individual's life expectancy; most people die within 2-5 years of diagnosis.
There are, however, many examples of people living for much longer, however. After ALS diagnosis, around 20% of people will live five years or more, 10% will live for 10 years or more and 5% will live for a further 20 years.
Athletes Diagnosed with ALS
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| Stephen Hawking most Popular diagnosed by ALS for 43 Years! |
Causes of ALS
Currently, experts do not know precisely what causes ALS. It can affect anyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or geographical location. There are two types of ALS: sporadic (randomly occurring) and familial.
Familial ALS accounts for around 10% of cases and is inherited, with the offspring of a person with ALS having a 50% chance of developing the condition.In addition to genetic factors contributing to the heritability of familiar ALS, researchers are investigating several possible causes of ALS, including:
Disorganized immune response: the immune system may attack some of the body's cells, potentially killing nerve cells
Chemical imbalance: people with ALS often have higher levels of glutamate, a chemical messenger in the brain, near the motor neurons. Glutamate in high quantities is known to be toxic to nerve cells
Mishandling of proteins: if proteins are not processed correctly by nerve cells, abnormal proteins could potentially accumulate and cause the nerve cells to die.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), researchers are also investigating whether environmental factors play a role in the development of ALS. For example, a study reported that military personnel deployed in the Gulf region during the 1991 war were more likely to develop ALS than military personnel deployed elsewhere.
Environmental and lifestyle factors likely play a role in the development of ALS, but no conclusive evidence is available to support making specific changes to decrease the risk of the disease. Some possible links have been found between ALS and exposure to:
- Mechanical or electrical trauma
- Military service
- High levels of exercise
- High levels of agricultural chemicals
- High levels of a variety of heavy metals.
Athletes love using this now a days because their more prone to Muscle Pain.
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