09/07/2024
What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis known as ALS, is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS causes loss of muscle control. The disease gets worse over time. ALS is often called Lou Gehrig's disease after the baseball player who was diagnosed with it.
Symptoms.
Symptoms of ALS vary from person to person. Symptoms depend on which nerve cells are affected. ALS generally begins with muscle weakness that spreads and gets worse over time. Symptoms might include:
Trouble walking or doing usual daily activities.
Tripping and falling.
Weakness in the legs, feet or ankles.
Hand weakness or clumsiness.
Slurred speech or trouble swallowing.
Weakness associated with muscle cramps and twitching in the arms, shoulders and tongue.
Untimely crying, laughing or yawning.
Thinking or behavioral changes.
ALS often starts in the hands, feet, arms or legs. Then it spreads to other parts of the body. Muscles get weaker as more nerve cells die. This eventually affects chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing.
There's generally no pain in the early stages of ALS. Pain also is not common in the later stages. ALS doesn't usually affect bladder control. It also usually doesn't affect the senses, including the ability to taste, smell, touch and hear.
Causes.
ALS affects the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movements such as walking and talking. These nerve cells are called motor neurons. There are two groups of motor neurons. The first group extends from the brain to the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body. They're referred to as upper motor neurons. The second group extends from the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body. They're referred to as lower motor neurons.
ALS causes both groups of motor neurons to gradually deteriorate and then die. When motor neurons are damaged, they stop sending messages to the muscles. As a result, the muscles can't function.
For about 10% of people with ALS, a genetic cause can be identified. For the rest, the cause is not known.
Researchers continue to study possible causes of ALS. Most theories center on a complex interaction between genes and factors in the environment.
Homeopathic Treatment.
Arsenicum album – for the perfectionist where everything must have its order in their home or office; “Cleanliness is next to godliness;” physical symptoms include nervousness, especially in the evening with a sense of being rushed; pains are burning often relieved by warm or hot applications; emotional causes are a sense of perfection and overdoing things.
Curare – emotional issues are a self-loathing where they can hit themselves, rips clothes and they isolate with an aggressive attitude; progressive paralysis or extensor muscles; weakness of the hands; must drink to swallow.
Phosphorus – for those with lack of boundaries, where they are social but affected by others’ emotions; they feel that they must take on other’s pains and diseases to save them; they may be intuitive and even psychic, but they are trapped by their over stimulation; physical signs include numb fingers, numbness of the legs, uncertain walking; pain, twitching and tremors of the muscles; feel better from motion, heat, and massage; sensitive to storms and may have nose bleeds.
Plumbum metallicum – the emotional causes are selfishness and materialism over a period of time; often have arteriosclerosis with contracting pains and symptoms; sallow and shrunken with their affected parts; hypersensitive to the touch; numbness and paralysis; progressive paralysis of especially upper part of the body; wrist and ankle drop, tremors, spasms of muscles especially of the arms and hands; offensive sweaty feet; sciatic pains of legs with numbness; extensor muscles weakened.
Sulphur – the intellectual (they are often egotistical) or the inventor with great ideas often unfulfilled; tendency to messiness; pains are burning, tendency to stick feet out of the covers; left shoulder pains; symptoms are accompanied by skin problems; worse left side.
