BBC NEWS | Health |
Professor Stephen Hawking suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neurone disease.
What causes it?
ALS, which accounts for more than 90% of all cases of motor neurone disease, causes nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord called motor neurones to degenerate and eventually die.
Around one in 10 cases of ALS are thought to be due to genetics, but the trigger for the other 90% of cases remains a mystery.
What is the prognosis?
Poor. The average life expectancy for somebody with ALS is just two to five years from the time symptoms first appear.
However, not all people with ALS have the same symptoms, and the rate of progression of the disease can vary greatly
Professor Hawking first developed the disease when he was just 21 years old, and has lived with it for more than 40 years.
The fact that he has lived for long with the condition has been described as remarkable. BBC NEWS | Health |
1 comment:
I hear that some people with Lyme Disease are misdiagnosed as having ALS. Like syphilis, Lyme Disease is one of those "great imitator" illnesses- but at least it's treatable with high doses of long term antibiotics. I know there are risks of taking lots of antibiotics but for those who have good reason to believe they have Lyme Disease (such as those who've had tick bites and/or EM rashes), the risk is surely worth it.
Neelu
(Lyme Disease sufferer misdiagnosed with CFS)
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