Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS is often called Lou Gehrig's disease after Lou Gehrig, the famous New York Yankees baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS in the 1930’s. ALS is a neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for controlling voluntary muscles—the muscles you can move.

With ALS, eventually all muscles under voluntary control are affected. Patients lose strength and ability to move their arms, legs and body. When muscles in the chest fail, patients end up using a ventilator to breathe and most people with ALS die from respiratory failure. It’s a frustrating disease for both patients and doctors. There are no clear risk factors in about 90% to 95% of all cases and no cure. Usually ALS patients die within three to five years from the onset of symptoms but 10% of patient survived 10 or more years. Learn more about ALS here or share your story or experience with icyou.