Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: the Current World Situation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3823/1862Keywords:
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Neurodegenerative DiseaseAbstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of unknown cause that affects mainly the motor neurons of the spinal cord, brain stem and brain. The pathogenesis is still obscure and the diagnosis is based on patient history and clinical examination. A handful of factors have been proposed to be associated with ALS;however, the only established risk factors to date are older age, male sex, and a family history of ALS. The familial cases have their historical importance in causative gene identifiation since through these discoveries much has been uncovered about ALS pathogenesis. The understanding of clinical and epidemiological factors associated with functional impairment is of fundamental for early adoption of measures to promote a better survival and a better quality of life. Rapid
diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurological disorders is vital if future treatments are to be applied at an early disease stage. The current pace of discovery and identifiation of novel disease mechanisms in ALS is unprecedented. Advances in this area, however, have also introduced challenges in the heterogeneity of diagnostic defiitions affecting this patient population.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access and Benefits of Publishing Open Access).
Â
Â