The People's Medicinesm
James A. Lugo, AP
Specializing in YOU!!!
ALS / Lou Gehrig's Disease
This page was created to bring awareness to this debilitating and deadly disease.
What is ALS?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
This is my Navy brother Jim who has ALS.
We served together on the USS Curts.
You can read about Jim's story by clicking here
We served together on the USS Curts.
You can read about Jim's story by clicking here
ALS research is highly underfunded and because of this people like Jim are left with very few options. In the United States most people live only 3-5 years after their diagnosis with ALS. In Japan they live between 15-25 years on average. My question is why?
Approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year. The incidence of ALS is two per 100,000 people, and it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may have the disease at any given time.
Why is this not getting more attention?
What's worse is that our brave men and women in the military are more than twice as likely to get ALS than someone who never served in the military.
Please click on this link to read this paper on ALS in the Military: ALS IN THE MILITARY: UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES OF MILITARY SERVICE
May 12, 2009
The information above can be found at the ALS Association website: http://www.alsa.org
If you want to make a difference then please donate to the ALS Association.
Also please make note that I will give FREE treatments to anyone with ALS.
Thank you for reading this.
In health and service,
James A. Lugo, AP
