2023-06-22 00:00:33
World Day Against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is commemorated every June 21.
A genetic mutation is responsible for between five and 10% of all cases.
It is characterized by causing muscle weakness and inability to move arms, legs and body.
According to María Eugenia Briseño Godínez, who is a specialist at the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery (INNN), in Mexico it is estimated that there are at least seven thousand patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It is a progressive and degenerative neurological disease that affects the brain stem and spinal cord.
He further noted that Every year two thousand new cases are detected worldwide. Of these, between five and 10 percent is due to a genetic defect. These people present muscle weakness, spasms, and inability to move the arms, legs, and body. It can also affect the muscles of the pharynx and larynx.
He added that this disease can be detected in first level units. Suspecting that the person has this condition, they should refer to the second or third level so that the specialist in neurology can apply the corresponding protocol to confirm the condition and provide multidisciplinary treatment.
Brief history of the disease
Based on the medical literature, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot he described it for the first time in 1869. This psychiatrist, neurologist and neuroscientist conducted a study on a group of patients who presented a dysfunction of muscular capacity as a common symptom.
Since then more research has been done and it is now known that the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis It is a disease of the central nervous system characterized by degeneration of motor neurons in the cerebral cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord. This causes a progressive weakness that advances until the total paralysis of the sick person.
At the Ministry of Health (SSa) people with symptoms of this disease or with a confirmed diagnosis can receive medical care in the federal hospital network, as well as in the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgeryand the services are free for those who do not have social security.
How do you make the diagnostic?
Regarding diagnosis, specific tests are generally not needed. However, there are patients who are subjected to magnetic resonance studies of the cervical spine and others, because they present an indefinite clinical picture.
The specialist maintained that the specific cause for developing this disease is unknown. One of the most recognized theories is the difficulty in the body to purify toxic substances that accumulate and degenerate neurons.
Referring to the risk factors, he said that they are age, family history, smoking, exposure to different toxins or substances used in the field, among others.
Briseño Godínez reported that the treatment should be aimed at trying to stop the progression of the condition and minimize the ailments that the person presents, especially muscle weakness.
The commemoration of World Day Against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis It is promoted by patient associations from around the world. Its objective is to call on governments to improve health services and encourage increased research on the causes, treatment and cure of this disease.
Also read:
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Symptoms, Causes, and Available Treatments
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