What exactly does ALS stand for? \u00c2\u00a0<\/b>\n\nNo clue? Ok GK Time.\n\nAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis\u00c2\u00a0(ALS) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00c2\u00a0Lou Gehrig’s disease\u00c2\u00a0in North America, and rarely\u00c2\u00a0Charcot disease\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis aneurodegenerative disorder\u00c2\u00a0with various causes. The term\u00c2\u00a0motor neuron disease\u00c2\u00a0(MND) is often used interchangeably with ALS, while others use it to refer to a group of similar conditions that include ALS.\u00c2\u00a0ALS is characterized by muscle\u00c2\u00a0spasticity, rapidly progressive weakness due to\u00c2\u00a0muscle wasting. This results in difficulty\u00c2\u00a0speaking,\u00c2\u00a0swallowing, and\u00c2\u00a0breathing. The disease usually starts around the age of 60, except in cases that are directly inherited when the usual age of onset is around 50.<\/i>\n\nThe average survival from onset to death is three to four years. Only 4% survive longer than 10 years, although rare cases survive 50 years or more. Most die from respiratory failure\u00c2\u00a0in much of the world rates of ALS are unknown. In the United States, more than 5,600 are diagnosed every year, and up to 30,000 Americans are currently affected. ALS is responsible for 2 deaths per 100,000 people per year.<\/i>\n\nSo why are these celebs dunking themselves in icy cold water you ask? <\/b>\n\nBy taking part in the ice bucket challenge people all over the world have helped massively by donating and spreading awareness about this disease.\n\nSo far the ALS community have received around 111.6 million in\u00c2\u00a0Ice Bucket\u00c2\u00a0Challenge\u00c2\u00a0donations!\u00c2\u00a0This is probably one of the most viral causes to go around this year, and it includes the fun factor and the humanity factor into it.\u00c2\u00a0So if you get nominated, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t chicken out! Sometimes a little brain freeze is good for the soul \ud83d\ude1b\n\nPS \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget to donate!]]> \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What exactly does ALS stand for? \u00c2\u00a0 No clue? Ok GK Time. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis\u00c2\u00a0(ALS) \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00c2\u00a0Lou Gehrig’s disease\u00c2\u00a0in North America, and rarely\u00c2\u00a0Charcot disease\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis aneurodegenerative disorder\u00c2\u00a0with various causes. The term\u00c2\u00a0motor neuron disease\u00c2\u00a0(MND) is often used interchangeably with ALS, while others use it to refer to a group of similar conditions that include ALS.\u00c2\u00a0ALS is characterized by … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[58,59,60,61,62,63,64,10,65,19],"class_list":["post-2282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fruitbowl","category-uncategorized","tag-als","tag-awareness","tag-digital-media","tag-disease","tag-hollywood","tag-ice","tag-icebucketchallenge","tag-social-media","tag-trend","tag-viral"],"yoast_head":"\n