ALS is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig disease or motor neuron disease. Nerve cells (neurons) in the brain and spinal cord which are responsible for transmitting nerve signal to the body's muscles degenerate and die. Signals from the brain can no longer reach the muscles, which themselves begin to atrophy. Eventually, the muscles which control breathing are affected, and the patient usually dies of respiratory failure.

ALS is virtually 100% fatal. Most patients die within five years of the onset of symptoms, although about 10% survive for over 10 years. Noted physicist Stephen Hawking has had ALS since the early 1960s and has survived for more than 45 years. There is no cure for ALS. One medication (riluzole) has been shown to slow the degenerative process by several months, but treatment is otherwise restricted to relief of symptoms, including assistance with respiration and communication.
Source(s):
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/amyotrophiclateralsclerosis/detail_amyot...
http://www.hawking.org.uk/

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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) often called Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the famous baseball player who died of it in 1941, occurs in one to three people per 100,000 worldwide. It is a serious neurological disease, which causes muscle weakness, disability and eventually death. It is true that most people with ALS survive only two to five years after diagnosis. And yet Professor Stephen Hawking, the internationally renowned British Physicist, has been battling successfully with ALS for more than 40 years since he had the disease. This brilliant man, who has striven through a lot of adversities to accomplish what he has achieved, remains an inspiration for all those having ALS. well there is more to this if u want you can take have a look source is given below . thanks
Source(s):
http://www.timeswellness.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=1&conte...

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