News 12 journalist Moshe Nussbaum revealed yesterday in a letter to news company employees that he had been diagnosed with ALS. He made it clear that he would continue to work, but would “slow down a bit.” Dr. Tair Alon, a neurologist, a specialist in musculoskeletal diseases from the ALS Clinic at Beilinson Hospital, this morning (Sunday) provided more details about the complex and incurable disease in Anat Davidov and Golan’s program on 103FM, and revealed whether the solution is around the corner. .
“ALS is a degenerative disease. In fact, the nerves that are responsible for carrying out our movements, from the thought to the movement of each and every degenerating organ,” Alon explained at the beginning of the interview. “We know there is a genetic source. In another part, we can find all kinds of proteins that we do not know even if they cause harm or indicate the harm, but we do not know for sure what causes it. I believe there is no connection to food or behavior or anything like that.”
She was later asked what characterizes the disease, and why it is received differently in everyone. To this she replied: “We do not know. We are talking about statistics that talk about a certain life expectancy, but we know that there are people who manage to pull it off, and in good condition for many years. We do not know how to predict who will take how long to deteriorate and at what rate. There are many studies Who deal with “how to predict.” She added that “there are drugs that slightly slow down the progression of the disease but there is nothing to stop it.”
On the treatment of the disease, Dr. Alon said, “Our main occupation, apart from providing the drugs that slow down the rate of progress, is treatment to improve quality of life and learn all kinds of techniques. For example, a communication clinician who teaches swallowing and speaking techniques. A dietitian who adapts the diet and treatment of everything around her. “She added that” there is a large association that provides psychological assistance to patients and their families, there are social workers who accompany them, and there are us who try to help as much as possible. We would like every person to reach their full potential and do their best. ”
It was then asked whether in the younger people, the processes go faster. To which she replied: “Not necessarily. I have the impression that in young people it often progresses more slowly.”
On the decision of the news company management to continue to allow Nussbaum to be on screen, broadcast his articles and sit in the studios as usual and on the message it conveys, Dr. Alon said: “I think it is a great message. I have a lot of such patients – this is not an unusual case – as they are allowed to continue working and continue to lead their lives as normally as possible. “And I think it’s also an important message to the public, that we are surrounded by people with all sorts of very limiting diseases and tend to look away, but in the end, everyone has someone who has a serious illness and life goes on and should do their best to enjoy them.”
Finally, she was asked if the solution to the disease is around the corner: “I definitely believe that we will find both the cause and the appropriate treatment in the coming years. I believe we just need some kind of jump. We need to find out the little thing and move on,” Alon replied.
Assisted in the preparation of the article: Amitai Duak, 103FM