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The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as SLA or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurological disease that affects the voluntary muscle movement. While motorized neurons die in ALS patients, they stop sending messages to the muscles, until they start weakening, contracting and atrophy over time. This means that ALS patients tend to suffer serious difficulties with daily tasks such as walking, talking and eating, just to name a few.

Although there were well-known people who lived with ALS, asStephen Hawking andLou Gehrig, it is considered arare sickness, affecting about 30,000 Americans at some point. Unfortunately, those with SLA typicallylive only three to five years Following their diagnosis, with only 10% of patients surviving 10 years or more, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Cerebral Vascular Accidents. The experts say that although there is no cure for ALS, the recognition of signs can lead to interventions likely to slow the progression of the disease. Read it to find out what symptom you may notice by eating and you need to do if you suspect a problem.

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As the ALS affects the neurons of the engine, nerve cells that control muscle movements, many patients are experimenting withDifficulty to swallowAlso called dysphagia. This can lead to an increase in the impact of choking or aspiration due to the weakening of certain throat muscles responsible for the protection of the respiratory tract.

This can be doubly dangerous because when a healthy person begins to smother or aspirate, the body automatically produces a cough response. In ALS patients, muscle weakness and rigidity can affect this response. Without productive cough, some patients have difficulty identifying their respiratory tracts for safe breathing.

If the difficulty of swallowing occurs in the last stages of the disease, there is a type of SLA for which dysphagia is considered aearly symptom.

About 30% of people with SLA have something known as Bulbar Sla. In this particular classification of the disease, the motor neurons are destroyed in the cerebral trunk during in thepreliminary steps, causing an progression of rapid disease and faster appearance symptoms in the face, head and neck muscles. For this reason, "the muscles involved in breathing, the word and swallowing are generally affected first inThis form of SLA, "explains the news of SLA today.

According to the Canadian SLA Society, 86% of Patients with Bulbar SLAhave difficulty swallowing as an early symptom. Almost the same percentage of all ALS patients suffer from swallowing, although the symptom usually occurs later in the progression of their disease.

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If you fear that you can have a Bulbar Sla, you should familiarize yourself with his otherEarly symptoms. These include the current or modified speech, the difficulty to chew, choke while eating or drinking, to weakness or traction in the muscles of the face, the jaw, the throat and the voicemail, or the tongue.

Although there is no SLA-specific diagnostic test, and no known remedy for illness, experts say that a timely diagnosis is essential for your prognosis. According to the ALS association,A drug called riluzole-Aso known as Rilutek - can help slow the progression of the disease and expand the longevity of ALS patients.

"It takes an average of about nine to 12 months for someone to beDiagnosed with SLA, from the moment they start to notice symptoms "Edward Kasarskis , MD, PhD, Director of the SLA Center at the University of Kentucky Neuroscience Center, written for the ALS association. The process consists of excluding other conditions through physical examinations, consultations with specialists, blood tests, MRIs, etc. If you suspect your symptoms could be ALS, talk with your doctor today.

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