Cause A single cause of ALS has eluded researchers for years. The disease now appears to involve several different factors. Some researchers are pursuing the idea that ALS may be an autoimmune disease, since the body seems to be attacking part of itself. There are 3,000 to 5,000 new cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis reported each year in the United States, with a higher incidence among males. In the early stages of the disease people experience weakness in the arms and legs, clumsiness, and slurred speech.
Muscles begin to become stiff and to twitch.
As the disease progresses there is a loss of motor control, making it increasingly difficult to walk, talk, and carry out everyday tasks. Symptoms your physician may observe By examination and laboratory tests, physicians can distinguish ALS from other diseases that affect muscles , such as multiple sclerosis. ALS affects the nerve cells that cause muscles to move - the motor neurons. In England ALS is known as motor neuron disease. The motor neurons are different from the sensory neurons, the nerve cells of the sense organs.