- By Jennifer O'Hara
Mayo Clinic Radio: ALS
More than 15,000 Americans are living with Lou Gehrig's disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's a progressive neurological disease that destroys nerve cells gradually, causing more and more loss of function over time. It often begins with muscle twitching and weakness in a limb, or slurred speech. Eventually, it affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. While there is no cure, treatments can slow its progression.
On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Jennifer Martinez-Thompson, a Mayo Clinic neurologist, will discuss diagnosis and treatment options for ALS. Also on the program, Dr. Molly Jeffery and Dr. W. Michael Hooten will share new Mayo Clinic research on trends in opioid use. Dr. Jeffery is the scientific director of Emergency Medicine Research at Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Hooten is a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist. And Dr. Paul Brown, a Mayo Clinic radiation oncologist, will explain a new radiotherapy approach aimed at preserving cognitive function for some brain tumor patients.
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Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.