Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – After a struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, it was announced yesterday, Friday, the death of the former Saudi Al-Nasr club player, Khaled Al-Zailai.. What is this disease?
Al-Zaylai suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing a loss of muscle control.
People with this condition lose muscle control, the muscles needed to move, talk, swallow, and breathe.
The disease is also known as Lou Gregg, after the famous American baseball player who retired in 1939, due to his diagnosis.
Among the most famous of those infected with the disease was the famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, who died at the age of 76.
Little is known about the causes of the disease and there is no cure for it. This condition is more common in men than women.
What are the symptoms?
Signs and symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis vary from person to person and generally begin with weakness that spreads in the muscles and worsens over time.
Symptoms are usually first noticed in the hands, feet or extremities, and then spread to other parts of the body.
As the disease worsens and nerve cells are destroyed, the muscles weaken, eventually affecting chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing.
Here are the possible signs and symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic medical group website:
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Difficulty walking or performing normal daily activities
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stumble and fall
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Weakness in the legs, feet, or ankles
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Weak hands or difficulty moving them
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slurred speech or problems swallowing
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Muscle cramps and tingling in the arms, shoulders and tongue
- Inappropriate crying, laughing, or yawning
- Cognitive and behavioral changes
There are two types of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: individual, the most common, and hereditary.
There is a 50% possibility that people with the disease will pass the disease on to their children, and people with familial ALS live between one and two years, on average, after the onset of symptoms.
Other risk factors
The risk of developing ALS increases with age, and is most common between the ages of 40 and the mid-sixties.
Men before age 65 have ALS slightly more often than women, and this sex-based difference disappears after age 70.
- environmental factors
– smoking
Exposure to environmental toxins such as lead or other substances in the work or home environment may be linked to ALS.
– Military service
Studies show an increased risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in people who have served in the military. It’s not yet clear what triggers military service that may lead to ALS, and this may include exposure to certain metals or chemicals, traumatic injuries, viral infections, or extreme stress.
Complications
The following are the complications that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis causes as the disease progresses
- Breathing problems
Over time, ALS paralyzes the muscles needed for breathing. The patient may need a device to help him breathe at night.
The most common cause of death in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is respiratory failure. Death occurs between 3 or 5 years from the onset of symptoms, on average. Some ALS patients live another 10 years or more.
- Speech problems
Most people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have difficulty speaking. It usually begins with a slight overlap of words, but becomes so intense that it is difficult for others to understand, and people with the disease often rely on other communication techniques.
- Eating problems
People with ALS may become malnourished and dehydrated because the muscles that control swallowing are damaged. There is an increased risk of food, fluid or saliva getting into the lungs, which can cause pneumonia.
A feeding tube can reduce these risks and ensure proper feeding.
Some people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have problems with memory and decision-making, and some of them are eventually diagnosed with a form of dementia, called frontotemporal dementia.
The disease gained popularity in 2014, when Pete Frits, a former Boston College baseball player who has been living with ALS since 2012, began the “ice bucket” challenge, which greatly contributed to raising awareness of the condition and greatly increasing the rate of donations to the Sclerosis Society. American atrophic lateral.