Lou Gehrig's Disease

Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS)

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Treatment

There is no known cure for ALS. The drug riluzole has been approved for treatment and may slow progression of the disease but it is expensive and only modestly effective. Generally, treatment is designed to help control symptoms.

Drugs such as baclofen or diazepam may help control spasticity. Trihexyphenidyl or amitriptyline may help patients swallow saliva. Gabapentin may be prescribed to help control pain. Because choking is common as ALS progresses, patients may need a tube called a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube or feeding tube to be placed into the stomach for feeding. A referral to an otolaryngologist, an ear, nose and throat specialist, may be advised.

Physical therapy, rehabilitation, use of appliances such as braces or a wheelchair or other treatments may help muscles work as well as possible and improve your general health.

ALS patients gradually lose the ability to function and care for themselves. They may survive from two to 10 years after the onset of the disease, with about 20 percent of ALS patients living more than five years after diagnosis.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated May 8, 2007