The difference between ALS and MS
AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (ALS)
ALS is a form of motor neuron disease. It involves the loss of the actual motor nerve cells. The nerves affected are in the spinal cord and those that travel to the voluntary muscles, so there are symptoms of both central and peripheral involvement, with weakness and wasting in arms, legs, and mouth/throat (bulbar). ALS is a rapidly progressive and fatal neuromuscular disease.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable – at times disabling – disease of the central nervous system: which consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The disease attacks the protective myelin covering of the central nervous system, causing inflammation and often destroying the myelin in patches. The severity of MS, rate of progression, and specific symptoms cannot be predicted at the time of diagnosis.
Further reading:
What is MS, by the US National MS Society
©Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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iseeiseesaidme
Thank you for educating us and Good Luck and making changes .
Willeke
Thank you! And thank you for being such a dedicated follower!
Climbing Downhill
Very informative and interesting. I especially like the chart.
Willeke
Thank you!
CommsG
thanks Willeke, I have been so afraid lately that my MS was actually ALS. Does anybody ever get an internal ‘vibrating’, kind of like your body is a tuning fork? it’s a permanent sensation that never goes away for me but nobody else that I have met has experienced it!
Willeke
I can’t remember ever having had a buzzing sensation, but it does seem to be related to MS, so I hope you can get some treatment for it. I did a quick Google search and found http://www.sharecare.com/health/multiple-sclerosis-symptoms/spinal-cord-attack-of-ms
In my case, I often feel like there is hair on my forehead and eye, even when I’ve been running around with a pixie haircut for the last 15 years! So annoying sometimes!
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