ALS is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and is a term that is used to describe a collection of neurodegenerative motor neuron diseases. It is also commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Motor neurons are nerve cells that originate from persons brainstem, connects to the spinal cord, and then radiates out to control voluntary muscle movements. Patients with ALS have defective motor neurons that affect their ability to move freely and impair their ability to perform simple tasks such as walking, talking, eating, or waving her hand. Despite the physical limitations, however, ALS does not affect the way a person thinks or feels, which effectively leaves a patient "locked in" in their bodies.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is not very common and is believed to occur to 2 people out of 100,000. However, this disease can strike fast and can affect anyone. Statistics show that almost half the people who are diagnosed with ALS can die within the first 14 months from the onset.
There is no known cure for ALS and research studies are still underway, looking for ways to fight the disease. Now, in an effort to help the ALS community to come up with a cure, the Internet is overflowing with ice bucket challenge videos. One of the first celebrities to take part in this was baseball player Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. People can participate in the ALS ice bucket challenge by having a bucket of ice water dumped over their heads, after which they can nominate two other people to take the challenge within 24 hours. If they choose not to do this, they can donate money to an ALS charity instead. According to the ALS Association, the viral Internet station has already raised over $15 million for ALS research so far.
In an interview, Frates said that, "Exposure like this is what the ALS community needs so we can even attempt to find a cure and reversal for people living with this insidious disease."