In motor neuron disease (MND), motor nerves become damaged and eventually stop working. Therefore, the muscles that the damaged nerves supply gradually lose their strength. There are various subtypes of MND. In each type, symptoms tend to start in different ways. However, as the disease progresses, the symptoms of each type of MND tend to overlap. Motor neuron disease is an uncommon condition that mainly affects people in their 60s and 70s, but it can affect adults of all ages. This means that symptoms in the later stages of each type of MND become similar.
The main types of MND
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Progressive bulbar palsy (PBP)
- Progressive muscular atrophy (PMA)
- Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS)
Causes
Most cases are sporadic and their causes are usually not known.environmental, toxic, viral, or genetic factors may be involved.
Symptoms
- muscle weakness, with loss of muscle mass (wasting), and movement and mobility problems
- muscle cramps and spasms, including rippling sensations (known as fasciculation)
- stiff joints, which may limit range of movement
- pain or discomfort, as a result of other symptoms
- speech and communication problems, affecting how you speak, gesture and show expression
- swallowing difficulties, affecting how you eat and drink
- saliva problems, where thin saliva pools in the mouth or saliva becomes thick and sticky
- weakened coughing, which makes it harder to clear the throat breathing problems, which can lead to breathlessness and fatigue emotional liability, with inappropriate emotional responses, such as laughing when feeling sad.
Ayuvedic Management
It’s always tough to handle MND and results depend upon type of MND. In most of the cases due to lack of early diagnosis patients nerve damaged had worsen his/ her mobility and other communication abilities. But in cases with early diagnosis very good results can be achieved with suppressing the progression of disease and improving the quality of life.
Treatments include mild external therapies and specific head therapies along with internal medicines. Treatment course depends upon patients response to medicines.