Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that causes muscles to stop working. ALS is a rare disease found mostly in very active people. Another name for ALS is Motor Neuron Disease (MND) and the most common name is Lou Gehrig's disease. Lou Gehrig was a hall of fame baseball player who played with Babe Ruth on the Yankees. He once hit four homeruns in one game. He fell victim to ALS in the late 1930's.

ALS was discovered in Paris, France in the early 1870's. Jean-Martin Charcot had worked with many patients of similar diseases before discovering ALS. People who have this muscular disease first notice a weakening in the muscles of the arms and legs, poor balance, speech, and swallowing problems. Many people who have it fail to perform simple everyday tasks such as tying their shoes or buttoning their shirts. Over time, ALS patients will...