Explaining Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

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by Wendy Henderson |

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This very informative video from Khan Academy explains more about the progressive, degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

MORE: 10 things to know about genetic testing for ALS.

The film explains that ALS is a rare disease that affects one to two people out of every 100,000. The disease is not very well-understood and to date, there are no known causes and no cure. Continued research is needed to help scientists establish why the motor neurons die in order to develop treatments that can stop or potentially reverse damage caused by the disease.

Many researchers think the cause is a combination of genetics and environmental factors but which environmental factors have yet to be determined.

MORE: Four treatments that can improve life with ALS

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