Could ALS be caused by brain trauma?
As noted, studies have strongly linked brain injury from concussions and repetitive head injuries. This latest study suggests some cases of ALS may also be caused by brain trauma. Lou Gehrig reportedly had multiple concussions over the course of his sports career.
Can ALS start at the site of a nerve injury?
Athletes, as well as people serving in the military, are more likely to suffer nerve injuries. And in some cases, the muscle weakness characteristic of ALS has been observed to start at the site of an injury and slowly spread to the rest of the body.
Which head injuries are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?
Head trauma, including concussions and repeated, less severe head injuries. While chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been closely tied to head injuries, the role these injuries play in developing ALS is less certain.
Is there a link between playing in the NFL and ALS?
This was an observational study. Observational research can identify a link between a possible risk factor (in this case, playing in the NFL) and a disease (ALS). However, it cannot prove that the risk factor caused the disease.
Can ALS be caused by emotional trauma?
Findings were that high stress, a type A personality, and physical activity were present more often in people with ALS.
What can trigger ALS?
Environmental factors, such as the following, might trigger ALS .Smoking. Smoking is the only likely environmental risk factor for ALS . ... Environmental toxin exposure. Some evidence suggests that exposure to lead or other substances in the workplace or at home might be linked to ALS . ... Military service.
Can ALS be caused by head trauma?
The researchers have now found a link between repetitive head trauma and a new form of motor neuron disease similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. Their findings were published in the September 2010 issue of the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology.
Why is ALS becoming more common?
Here we show that the number of ALS cases across the globe will increase from 222,801 in 2015 to 376,674 in 2040, representing an increase of 69%. This increase is predominantly due to ageing of the population, particularly among developing nations.
What are the first warning signs of ALS?
Some common early symptoms include:Stumbling.A hard time holding items with your hands.Slurred speech.Swallowing problems.Muscle cramps.Worsening posture.A hard time holding your head up.Muscle stiffness.
Why do so many veterans get ALS?
The Mayo Clinic guesses that reasons for the connection “may include exposure to certain metals or chemicals, traumatic injuries, viral infections and intense exertion” but says that “exactly what about military service may trigger the development of ALS is uncertain.”
Who is most at risk for ALS?
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.
Who gets ALS the most?
Most people who develop ALS are between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age of 55 at the time of diagnosis. However, cases of the disease do occur in people in their twenties and thirties. ALS is 20% more common in men than women.
Where does ALS usually start?
Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing or in the hands, arms, legs or feet. Not all people with ALS experience the same symptoms or the same sequences or patterns of progression. However, progressive muscle weakness and paralysis are universally experienced.
How can you prevent ALS?
There is no definite method to prevent ALS. However, people with ALS can participate in clinical trials, the National ALS Registry, and the National ALS Biorepository. This participation may help researchers learn about potential causes and risk factors of the disease.
Who is more likely to be affected by ALS?
The connection between ALS and athletes runs deeper than a single ballplayer; people who engage in intense physical activities, such as professional athletes and people in the military, are more likely to be affected by ALS.
What is the mutation in ALS?
One of the most highly-studied gene mutations in ALS is in a gene called SOD1. In their study, Loeb and colleagues used rats with mutated forms of the SOD1 gene, which causes the animals to have higher levels of the SOD1 enzyme and to develop ALS-like symptoms, including progressive muscle weakness, starting at 15 weeks of age.
How many ALS patients have mutations?
While a growing number of genes have been associated with the development of ALS, only about 10 percent of ALS patients have one or more of these gene mutations and none can explain why the disease presents with localized weakness or how it spreads. Ninety percent of ALS patients develop the disease for unknown reasons.
What happens to neighboring cells when a nerve loses connections?
Loeb explained that once a nerve loses connections with its neighbors, the neighboring cells tend to die off.
Do surgically injured rats have microglia?
They also found that surgically-injured rats had elevated and prolonged inflammation, and higher numbers of microglia and astrocyte cells in areas of the spinal cord associated with the injured neuron, and the inflammation and presence of these other cells spread to adjacent neurons.
Can a peripheral nerve injury cause suffocation?
In some, the disease seems to start after an injury -- muscle weakness at the site of the injury slowly spreads to new areas until weakness in the muscles responsible for breathing causes suffocation. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are the first to demonstrate that a peripheral nerve injury can trigger ...
Can ALS cause muscle weakness?
Their findings, published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, show that rats genetically engineered to develop ALS-like symptoms have an abnormal inflammatory response in the region of the spinal cord associated with an injured peripheral neuron. As the spinal cord inflammation and other damaging processes spread, they cause progressive muscle weakness throughout the body.
Why is ALS called Lou Gehrig's disease?
Since it was first described in the 19th century, much about ALS has remained mysterious. It's quite rare, affecting about two in 100,000 people. It might have remained a disease you'd never heard of if not for Lou Gehrig, the Hall-of-Fame baseball player who played for the New York Yankees in the 1920s and 1930s.
Searching for a cause of ALS
Genetics: Genes passed down through families contribute to about one in 10 cases
New research links playing professional football with ALS
A new study published in JAMA Network Open might help us better understand the cause of at least some cases of ALS. It strongly suggests that playing professional football may be a risk factor for the disease.
How certain are these findings?
This was an observational study. Observational research can identify a link between a possible risk factor (in this case, playing in the NFL) and a disease (ALS). However, it cannot prove that the risk factor caused the disease.
The bottom line
Public health experts and researchers are trying to sort out which sports harm brain health, and to recommend ways to protect against brain injuries.
What is the cause of Lou Gherig's disease?
Gradually, people lose their motor and sensory functions, eventually being unable to breathe before death. People with ALS have abnormally high levels of a protein called tau. Recently, researchers have uncovered that those who have suffered repeated traumatic brain injuries also have high levels of this protein. Researchers have demonstrated that this trauma can lead to this increased production and while the research is still in its infancy, the hypothesis provides a unique window into an important pathway of disease production. If there is a known cause, there could be a way to stop the development of this deadly disease.
How are Brain Injuries Sustained?
Brain injuries can lead to serious situations for not only the individual but also their loved ones as well. Some of the ways that someone could sustain a brain injury include:
Can airbags cause brain damage?
Airbags can reduce the risk; however, an impact between someone’s head and the steering wheel, dashboard, or window can lead to a brain injury.
Can ALS be terminal?
Without a doubt, a traumatic brain injury and the symptoms that go with this can irreparably damage families; however, those who develop ALS as a consequences can wind up with untold consequences as a result of a disease that is often terminal. Families who find themselves overwhelmed and wondering what to do should consider reaching out to a legal advocate. These professionals can provide help with issues such as:
What is the cause of ALS?
Researchers say nerve injuries may trigger a systemic inflammatory response leading to the deadly disease ALS.
Which study would have developed ALS whether they had been injured or not?
Appel said that the genetically engineered rats in the Illinois study would have developed ALS whether they had been injured or not.
What causes muscle weakness in the body?
The inflammation and other damage led to progressive muscle weakness throughout the body.
What is the role of genetics in ALS?
Past research has shown that, like the lab animals in the Illinois study, genetics can play a role in predisposing certain individuals to ALS. One of these genes, called SOD1, was mutated in the study to make the lab rats more likely to develop ALS.
What journal is the study of ALS?
Their work could reveal new avenues for treatment and prevention of ALS, according to the study published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease
What is the name of the disease that affects the first baseman of the Yankees?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease that disproportionately affects athletes such as the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig.
Do athletes have nerve injuries?
Athletes, as well as people serving in the military, are more likely to suffer nerve injuries. And in some cases, the muscle weakness characteristic of ALS has been observed to start at the site of an injury and slowly spread to the rest of the body.
What are the triggers of trauma?
Body Memories As Triggers. Other body reactions to trauma are sweating, panic, racing heart beat, pain and muscle tension. Being short of breath and feeling out of control are also feelings that can trigger body memories of a past trauma.
What is trauma trigger?
Trauma is defined as a deeply disturbing and terrifying event that is outside the realm of usual experience. It could be a car accident, a natural disaster, or a medical procedure.
Why is EMDR important?
But traumatic events can’t be fully processed during REM sleep, and trauma often disturbs sleep. So EMDR helps the mind desensitize and heal. Therapy also needs to focus on trauma reactions in the body. This creates a feeling of fight or flight.
What is it called when you feel triggered?
What Are Trauma Triggers. There are many ways that you can re-experience trauma and as a result, feel triggered. When something happens that reminds you of the traumatic event, this is called a trigger or being triggered.
How does EMDR help with trauma?
EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is also an excellent technique for healing trauma. In this method, you hold an image of the traumatic event in your mind while watching the therapist do a back and forth hand movement. You move your eyes back and forth , and this helps process trauma between the two sides of the brain.
How to heal from trauma?
Some things that you can do to cope with being triggered are deep breathing, mediation, yoga and talking to a trusted friend or loved one. Sharing what you are feeling, and not bottling it up inside, is important to healing.
How do you get triggered?
You can also get triggered by reactions in your body. These are body memories. For example, you go to the movies and feel a jolt of fear or excitement during a scene. That feeling in your body ‘triggers you’ and brings you right back to how you felt during a traumatic event.
Sounds
Hearing a specific sound can lead to an unwanted response and trigger our bodies to react and feel unsafe, even in a secure environment. Some examples of trigger sounds can include:
Sights
Seeing a particular item, environment, or person can easily be a trigger. For example, after a car accident, seeing a similar car to the one you were driving at the time of the traumatic event can lead to an unwanted response.
Smells
Our senses connect directly to our brains and constantly send messages as we interact with the world around us.
Situations
Sometimes, we may find ourselves in certain situations that trigger a traumatic memory. Some circumstances that trigger emotions may be:
Emotions
Sometimes, a particular emotion is associated with the traumatic event. You might encounter a seemingly manageable situation as an adult in which you feel helpless, which might remind you of times when you were truly helpless as a child. This could then trigger memories of childhood experiences, causing emotional flooding and overwhelm.
How do people react to traumatic events?
People respond to traumatic events in different ways. Often there are no visible signs, but people may have serious emotional reactions. Shock and denial shortly after the event are normal reactions. Shock and denial are often used to protect yourself from the emotional impact of the event. You may feel numb or detached.
What are some examples of traumatic events?
Examples of traumatic events include: physical pain or injury (e.g. severe car accident) serious illness. war. natural disasters.
How to tell if a child has traumatic stress?
Experiences with traumatic stress can appear much different for children. Signs that a child may need professional help to cope with a traumatic event include: 1 emotional outbursts 2 aggressive behavior 3 withdrawal 4 persistent difficulty in sleeping 5 continued obsession with the traumatic event 6 serious problems at school
What is it called when you are scared of a traumatic event?
intense fear that the traumatic event will recur, particularly around anniversaries of the event (or when going back to the scene of the original event) A condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD) can sometimes occur after you experience a life-threatening event or witness a death.
What is traumatic event?
What are traumatic events? A traumatic event is an incident that causes physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological harm. The person experiencing the distressing event may feel physically threatened or extremely frightened as a result.
How long does it take to move past shock?
Moving past the initial shock usually takes 4–6 weeks from the event. This is seen as the difference between an acute stress reaction (within 4 weeks from the event) or a post-traumatic reaction (usually after 4–6 weeks). Once you have moved past the initial shock, responses to a traumatic event may vary. Common responses include:
Why do some people have PTSD?
A history of trauma, along with other physical, genetic, psychological, and social factors may play a role in developing PTSD.
What are the triggers of PTSD?
PTSD triggers can vary from person to person, but they are usually tied to your senses such as sight, smell, or sound. In addition, certain lifestyle factors — like not having enough social support — can worsen PTSD triggers.
How to distract yourself from triggers?
Temporarily distract away from your triggers using your thoughts. Try counting backward from 100, listing everything you can think of that starts with the letter ‘A,’ or naming as many states as possible.
How to ground yourself during PTSD?
These focus on helping you recognize where you are, often using your body. One way to ground yourself during a PTSD trigger is to focus on the five senses. For example:
Can PTSD trigger flashbacks?
Some PTSD triggers can be easily predicted and identified. For example, you can predict that driving past the place where you were sexually assaulted is likely to cause flashbacks of the incident.
Do I have PTSD triggers?
With PTSD, a trigger is something that brings on memories or reminders of a traumatic event. For example, flashbacks are often prompted by a trigger. The flashback causes you to feel as though you’re reliving the traumatic experience (or some parts of it) all over again. This can include reliving the emotions or body sensations you felt during the traumatic event.
Why Is Als called Lou Gehrig’s Disease?
- Since it was first described in the 19th century, much about ALS has remained mysterious. It’s quite rare, affecting about two in 100,000 people. It might have remained a disease you’d never heard of if not for Lou Gehrig, the Hall-of-Fame baseball player who played for the New York Ya…
New Research Links Playing Professional Football with Als
- A new study published in JAMA Network Openmight help us better understand the cause of at least some cases of ALS. It strongly suggests that playing professional football may be a risk factor for the disease. 1. Between 1960 and 2019, 19,423 men played in the National Football League (NFL). During that time period, 38 were diagnosed with ALS and 28 died of the disease. …
How Certain Are These Findings?
- This was an observational study. Observational research can identify a link between a possible risk factor (in this case, playing in the NFL) and a disease (ALS). However, it cannot prove that the risk factor causedthe disease. For studies like this, it’s always possible that a confounder — a factor not studied or accounted for — might explain the connection. For example, this study did …
The Bottom Line
- Public health experts and researchers are trying to sort out which sports harm brain health, and to recommend ways to protect against brain injuries. Expert recommendations for contact sports have evolved to include protective equipment, changes in game rules, limiting participation by younger players, and discouraging participation after a head injury until recovery is complete. A…
Why Is Als called Lou Gehrig's Disease?
- Since it was first described in the 19th century, much about ALS has remained mysterious. It's quite rare, affecting about two in 100,000 people. It might have remained a disease you'd never heard of if not for Lou Gehrig, the Hall-of-Fame baseball player who played for the New York Yankees in the 1920s and 1930s. He developed ALS at age 36 and died of the disease two year…
Searching For A Cause of Als
- Some research suggests that risk factors for ALS include: 1. Genetics: Genes passed down through familiescontribute to about one in 10 cases 2. Smoking: In one study, the heaviest smokers had a 26% higher risk of developing ALS compared with those who had never smoked 3. Pesticide exposure,such as pesticides used on crops 4. Unusual infections with...
New Research Links Playing Professional Football with Als
- A new study published in JAMA Network Openmight help us better understand the cause of at least some cases of ALS. It strongly suggests that playing professional football may be a risk factor for the disease. 1. Between 1960 and 2019, 19,423 men played in the National Football League (NFL). During that time period, 38 were diagnosed with ALS and 28 died of the disease. …
How Certain Are These Findings?
- This was an observational study. Observational research can identify a link between a possible risk factor (in this case, playing in the NFL) and a disease (ALS). However, it cannot prove that the risk factor causedthe disease. For studies like this, it's always possible that a confounder -- a factor not studied or accounted for -- might explain the connection. For example, this study did n…
The Bottom Line
- Public health experts and researchers are trying to sort out which sports harm brain health, and to recommend ways to protect against brain injuries. Expert recommendations for contact sports have evolved to include protective equipment, changes in game rules, limiting participation by younger players, and discouraging participation after a head injury until recovery is complete. A…