Stephen Hawking and the Drawbacks of ALS Research Paper Example
Approximately twenty to thirty thousand people are living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the United States (Miller et al 6). For instance, Stephen Hawking is an example of someone who has had the disease and has dealt with it while precariously having a grip on his physical body. The sheer life expectancy of ALS is extremely low, given only twenty percent living beyond five years after being diagnosed (30), but the fact that many have seen physicist Stephen Hawking survive with the disease for over fifty years (“Stephen Hawking”) is undermining the most common disadvantage of this sickness.
To clarify, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis better known as ALS is a deterioration of motor nerve cells such as the brain or the spinal cord (Miller et al 3). As nerves break down, individuals will continually get weaker over time. The most common symptoms include the following: arbitrary loss of muscle, twitching (most commonly feet and hands), loss of control in the limbs of the body, tripping and falling, tiredness, uncontrollable periods of laughing and crying, and paralysis (Cedars Sinai Editors). Thus, many manifestations are happening in the body at the time of this disease.
As mentioned before, the symptoms can prove fatal, however, the odds of developing this disease are pretty unlikely given that only about two out of every 100,000 acquire the disease (Miller et al 6). Currently, in the United States, 20,000 to 30,000 are afflicted with ALS (6). The most common individuals are people in their fifties (6). Although uncommon, people as young as twenty years of age and as old as ninety can also get the disease, while most common symptoms show between forty to seventy years of age (6). Statistically, the ratio between men to women diagnosed happens to be 3:2, while there are about fifteen new cases reported each day worldwide (“ALS Facts and Statistics”). Lastly, the life expectancy for those with ALS is less than five years with only twenty percent living past that (Miller et al 30). To put that into perspective, four out of five will die within the first five years of being diagnosed.
At this time, there are no cures to fully eradicate this disease. Physicians have made large steps into unknown territory by including techniques to either delay the sickness or prevention of getting it in the first place. First of all, periodical practices of breathing techniques will clear passages and nasal ways for better breathing (30). Meanwhile, it is imperative to practice good swallowing techniques as well as digest food properly while eating (30). If diagnosed with this disease, eating more than the average amount of calories and proteins is crucial, because, as mentioned earlier, bodies tend to lose weight randomly (103).
In brief, there are two main types of ALS which are Sporadic and familial (Cedars Sinai Editors). Sporadic, the most common of the two, affects roughly nine out of every ten people who contract this disease (Cedars Sinai Editors). Familial would appear only to affect one out of ten people who get the disease (Cedars Sinai Editors). Neither one is deadlier than the other, but each is brought about in different ways.
Specifically, Hawking, who had dealt with this disease for over 50 years (“Stephen Hawking”), while still making illustrious discoveries in the field of science, had endeavored regardless of his condition (“Stephen Hawking”). Hawking, a British scientist who practiced physics and cosmology (Biography.com Editors), was most notable for the writing of A Brief History of Time and the uncovering of Hawking radiation (“Stephen Hawking”).
To start, Hawking was an undergraduate attending the University of Oxford when first diagnosed with ALS (“Stephen Hawking”). Hawking’s dad had noticed his unsteady walking ability and his tendency to slur words every so often while in simple conversation (Biography.com Editors). After consulting with a doctor, it was determined that Hawking was showing symptoms equivalent to that of sporadic ALS (“Stephen Hawking”).
After the diagnosis, the doctors had told him he would only live two years longer (Biography.com Editors). After the announcement, Hawking became very demotivated in his work and fell into a deep depression (“Stephen Hawking”). While in this stage, Hawking met the love of his life, Jane Wilde, who brought him out of depression and encouraged him to keep working (“Stephen Hawking”). His accomplishments included: Big Bang Theory, theory of a beginning of the universe and an end, the relation between heat and gravity, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, writing of Brief History of Time, knighted commander of the British Empire in 1982, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (“Stephen Hawking”).
In conclusion, ALS is a disease that continues to be studied thoroughly by physicians and researchers. They will continue to study the effects it has on its patients and the cures needed to prevent this disease from happening in the first place. Hawking coped with this disease both physically and mentally. He continued to make great leaps in the scientific community despite the effects of ALS.
