Over the weekend, 57-year-old Bryan Randall, Sandra Bullock’s longtime lover, passed away from ALS.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Bryan Randall’s family said, “It is with great regret that we report that on August 5, Bryan Randall died away peacefully following a three-year fight with this disease.
The neurological disorder known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, has no cure. According to the Mayo Clinic, it damages nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, results in a loss of muscle control, and gets worse with time. A journey through this disease labyrinth typically spans a temporal horizon of three to five years from the moment of diagnosis.
In the initial stages of this condition, muscle spasms and weakness often occur, orchestrating their performance in the hands, feet, arms, or legs. Trips and falls are two additional early warning signals. After that, it spreads to other body regions, making it difficult to breathe, speak, and swallow.As a tribute to the Hall of Fame baseball star who was identified with it in 1939, this disease is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
According to the ALS Association, 90% of instances of the disease have no documented genetic or family history of the condition. There are examples of this disease in people as young as their twenties and thirties, but most people who develop this disease are between the ages of 40 and 70, with an average age of 56 at the time of diagnosis.
Even though the incidence becomes more equal as people get older, men are 20% more likely than women to get diagnosed.
Long after they lose the ability to speak, this disease patients can now communicate in their voices thanks to a new program.
According to the CDC, there were more than 31,000 this disease in the US in 2017, although many instances go misdiagnosed. Every year, the condition is officially identified in about 5,000 new cases.
The Ice Bucket Challenge, which began in 2014, has helped raise millions of dollars for ALS research. To raise awareness and funds to fight the condition, people, including celebrities, were motivated by the viral challenge to drop buckets of ice water on their heads.
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ALS: What is it?
The disease known as “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,” is defined by the progressive degradation of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, according to the website of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Motor neurons, or nerve cells, which govern voluntary muscular movements like walking and speech, are impacted by this disease, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
Both groups of motor neurons steadily degrade and eventually die as a result of this disease. Motor neurons stop communicating with the muscles when they are destroyed. The muscles are unable to work as a result, according to a section of the Mayo Clinic website.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke states that this disease is a frequent type of motor neuron disease.
How does ALS show its symptoms?
According to the website of Johns Hopkins Medicine, individuals with this disease may initially experience limb weakness that progresses over the course of a few days or weeks.
“And a few weeks later, another limb started to weaken. According to a website excerpt, slurred speech or difficulty swallowing can occasionally be the first sign of a problem.
According to the website, as this disease advances, more symptoms could be seen. The signs consist of:
cramping and twitching of the muscles, especially in the hands and feet
motor control in the hands and arms is lost
inability to utilize arms or legs properly
Falling and tripping
Dropping objects
persistent tiredness
Periods of uncontrollable laughter and tears
According to the website, paralysis, difficulty swallowing, and breathing difficulties are further signs of the disease as it progresses.
What brings on ALS?
The website of Johns Hopkins Medicine states that researchers are uncertain of what causes ALS.
About 10% of patients with this disease have a hereditary etiology that can be determined, according to the ALS page on the Mayo Clinic website.
A section of the Mayo Clinic website on ALS stated that “Most theories center on a complex interaction between genes and factors in the environment.”
The Mayo Clinic website lists several recognized risk factors for this disease, including:
Age, with people between the ages of 60 and 80 having the highest incidence of this disease.
Before the age of 65, men are slightly more likely than women to get ALS. However, the gender-based disparity vanishes at the age of 70.
Is ALS possible to cure?
There is no treatment for this disease, according to the websites of the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine.
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