Transcript Never Give Up - Human Disease Project

Never Give Up
ALS
By Anna W.
Period 5
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Lou Gehrig
ALS
 Form of a Motor Neuron Disease
 Effects and kills Motor Neurons,
nerve cells in the central nervous
system
 Ruins voluntary muscle movement
 IS fatal
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Diagram
 Normal neuron and Muscle
 Healthy neuron
 ALS affected muscle
 Dying cell body
 Thin decaying myelin
 Wasted muscle
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SYMPTOMS
 Early Symptoms
 Weak muscles
 Slurred speech
 Later Symptoms
 Unable to stand or walk
 Cannot preform manual tasks
 Loss of speech and swalloing
Who gets it
 ALS is not contagious
 About 30,000 people have ALS in the US
 Few thousand diagnosis in the Bay Area
 FALS (familial ALS) is genetic
 10% of adult ALS onsets is hereditary
 Ages 40-60 mostly get ALS
 Occationally aged 20
KK
 My grandmother who was
diagnosed with ALS
 She has to be helped with
everything
 Has lost her speech
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 Uses voice apps on her iphone
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My Inspiration
 KK inspired me to do my HDP on ALS
 Whenever I think of her it reminds me,
things in my life could be worse, and to
never give up.
 Learning about ALS brought me a lot
closer to my grandmother, who won’t be
around for much longer because usually
ALS kills you in 5-7 years, KK is in her forth
year.
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No One Knows
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 Not much at all is known about ALS, Lou
Gehrig’s disease at the moment.
 Not the cause . . .
 Or the cure.
 But more is being discovered everyday,
so someday there will be a cure.
 I want to help scientists find it,
And I’ll never give up.
(Never Give Up is the ALS
Association’s slogan)