Prescribed Medications Vs Alternative Therapies For Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Overview of ALS and its progressive nature

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can be described as the group of rare neurological disorders. This disorder involves the nerve cells that are responsible for controlling of the voluntary muscles movements. These types of muscles are responsible for producing different movements like chewing, talking, walking and many other activities. The disorder is mainly found to be progressive and the symptoms are seen to get worse over the time (Meininger et al.). Researchers are of the opinion that there is no cure for ALS and therefore no effective treatment to halt or reversing the progression of the disorder had still been developed.

Often physicians are of the opinion that prescribed medications help in delaying the progression of the disorder. However, others argue that different alternative therapies are better options for the treatment of the disorder. This assignment will reflect the counter argument to help understand which option – (prescribed medication or alternative therapies) is successful for treatment of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Healthcare professionals suggest that prescribed medication is helpful for treatment of this disorder. Two drugs namely riluzole and edaravone are effectively useful for the treatment of ALS. Riluzone is believed to be helpful in reduction of the damage to different motor neurons by decreasing the levels of glutamate. This is seen to transport messages between the motor neurons and the nerve cells. Different clinical trials have shown that people who are suffering with ALS when take the medication of riluzole, their survival gets prolonged by few months particularly in the bulbar form of the diseases (Connoly et al.).

However, it cannot help in reversing the damage that had been already done to the motor neurons. Again edvarone is another effective medication that help in slowing the decline in the clinical assessment of the daily functioning in person with ALS. Various types of benefits can be obtained when patients with ALS can use prescribed medications successfully. Physicians state that medications often help in managing symptoms of ALS like that of muscle cramps, excessive saliva, stiffness and phlegm as well as the pseudo-bulbar affect. Drugs are also seen to help different individuals with pain, depression as well as sleep disturbances and even in constipation. Pharmacists provide advices on the effective use of medications and take active part in monitoring the prescriptions of the person for avoiding risks of drug interactions (Brown et al.).

However, a number of different side effects are found to be intricately associated with the disorder. Many of the patients with ALS has been seen to suffer from sudden chest pain as well as discomfort, wheezing, dry cough or hack as well as experiencing shortness of breath. They are also seen to develop cough along with mucous and stabbing chest pain. They are also seen to suffer from low white blood cells along with fever, swollen gums, painful mouth sores, pain while swallowing, cold as well as flu symptoms.  Many resarchers have also noted that the individuals with ALS who take the medications also suffer from liver problems (Bucchia et al.).

Prescribed medications for ALS and their benefits

People also suffer from nausea, upper stomach pain along with itching, tired feeling and even loss of appetite, dark-urine and even clay-colored stools, jaundice like that of yellowing of the skin or eyes. Kuffer (2015) had stated that dizziness and spinning sensation are intricately associated with taking of such medications. Weakness, drowsiness, stomach pain, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and even numbness of tingling around the mouth are found to be intricately associated with taking of the medications. The following side effects result in negative health outcomes and affect the quality of lives of the individuals. Therefore, many of the researchers are often those alternative therapies that do not come with any side effects when used for treatment for patients with ALS.

Different types of alternative therapies have been often proposed that help in effective treatment of ALs WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS. Physical therapy is one such option. Physical therapies as well as special equipments are often seen to be helpful in enhancing the independence and safety of an individual throughout the course of ALS. Gentle and low-impact aerobic exercises such as walking, swimming and even stationary bicycling are also important. These procedures help in strengthening of the unaffected muscles and improvement of the cardiovascular health (Renton et al.). They also help in fighting fatigue as well as depression.

Different ranges of motion and stretching exercises can help in preventing spasticity as well as shortening of muscles. Physical therapists can help in recommending different exercises that provide benefits without overworking muscles. Often occupational therapists can also help in suggesting different devices like that of ramps, walkers, braces and even wheelchairs. These help individuals in conserving energy and remaining mobile. Therefore, it can be seen that physical therapies come without any negative outcomes and side effects and hence, they can be considered interventions that are more effective or ALS (Vucic et al.).

Other alternative therapies without any side effects are also present. ALS affects the muscles, which are important for speaking, and therefore, communication is an issue in advanced ALS. Speech therapists can help in teaching different adaptive techniques that help to make the speech of individuals clearly understood. The expert professionals are also helpful in exploring different other methods of communication like that of the alphabet board as well as simple pen and paper. Another form of alternative therapy is the nutritional support (Moujalled & White, 2016). The team of the healthcare professionals caring for the patient will work together with the family members for ensuring that the eating of foods become easier to swallow  and meeting the nutritional needs.

Side effects of prescribed medications for ALS

Therefore, it can be seen that as very few side effects were associated with these form of alternative supports and therefore, many of the professionals prefer alternative therapies as the main mode of treatment arguing the negative outcomes of prescribed medications. Moreover, another form of alternative support that has been also stated to be of extreme importance for the individuals with ALS is the breathing support. The muscles those are responsible for breathing is often seen to start to weaken with the progression of the disorder. People experience shortness of breath during any physical activities as well as difficulty breathing at night or when lying down (Choudry et al.).

Physicians are seen to test the breathing of the individual for determining when to recommend the treatment called non-invasive ventilation. It can be explained as the breathing support that helps in delivering through a mask over the nose as well as mouth (Jenkins et al.). When muscles are no longer able to maintain normal oxygen as well as carbon-dioxide levels, NIV may be used full time. NIV results in the improvement of the quality of life as well as prolonging the survival of many people with the disorder.

From the discussion, one can clearly understand that prescribed medications can help in management of many symptoms of the disorder. However, researchers clearly found many side effects and negative outcomes on people with ALs who have been prescribed medications. Many of the different studies have supported the utilization of alternative therapies that do not come with any form of side effects. The therapies like physical therapies, occupational therapies, breathing supports and speech therapies help in management of symptoms of the patients with ALS. These therapies do not come with any form of side effects that result in poor quality life and negative physical harms. Hence, alternative therapies should be considered as an effective method for managing patients suffering from ALS.

References:

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Choudry, R., Galvez?Jimenez, N., Cudkowicz, M. E., & Targoff, I. N. (2015). Disease modifying treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. UptoDate.[Oppdatert 18. mar, 6-64.

Connolly, Sheelah, Miriam Galvin, and Orla Hardiman. “End-of-life management in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.” The Lancet Neurology 14.4 (2015): 435-442.

Jenkins, T. M., Hollinger, H., & McDermott, C. J. (2014). The evidence for symptomatic treatments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Current opinion in neurology, 27(5), 524-531.

Küffner, R., Zach, N., Norel, R., Hawe, J., Schoenfeld, D., Wang, L., … & Cudkowicz, M. (2015). Crowdsourced analysis of clinical trial data to predict amyotrophic lateral sclerosis progression. Nature biotechnology, 33(1), 51.

Meininger, Vincent, et al. “Safety and efficacy of ozanezumab in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial.” The Lancet Neurology 16.3 (2017): 208-216.

Moujalled, D., & White, A. R. (2016). Advances in the development of disease-modifying treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. CNS drugs, 30(3), 227-243.

Renton, Alan E., Adriano Chiò, and Bryan J. Traynor. “State of play in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis genetics.” Nature neuroscience 17.1 (2014): 17.

Vucic, Steve, Jeffrey D. Rothstein, and Matthew C. Kiernan. “Advances in treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: insights from pathophysiological studies.” Trends in neurosciences37.8 (2014): 433-442.