Above photo:
Jimmy R. Crouch, Sr. 1946-2000


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neuromuscular disease that weakens and eventually destroys motor neurons (components of the nervous system that connect the brain with the skeletal muscles). Skeletal muscles are involved with voluntary movements, such as walking and talking. The motor neurons transmit the command to move from the brain to the skeletal muscles, which respond by contracting.

A person with ALS usually presents with problems in dexterity or gait resulting from muscle weakness, or with difficulty speaking or swallowing. Sphincter control, sensory function, intellectual ability, and skin integrity are preserved. Patients become paralyzed and often require ventilation and surgery to provide a new opening in the stomach (gastrostomy). Loss of respiratory function is ultimately the cause of death.

ALS statistics

Most people who develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70, although the disease can occur at a younger age. It occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries. It affects as many as 30,000 in the United States, with 5,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Estimates suggest that ALS is responsible for as many as five of every 100,000 deaths in people aged 20 or older. ALS is most common among persons over age 60. The incidence of ALS is five times higher than Huntington's disease and about equal to multiple sclerosis. Many ALS patients can live longer and more productive lives because of current research into the cause, prevention and cure for the disease. Improvements in medical management, including nutrition and breathing, regularly increase patient survival. Fifty percent of affected patients live at least three or more years after diagnosis; 20 percent live five years or more; and up to 10 percent will survive more than ten years.