Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, (MND-motor neuron disease) is a neurodegenerative condition that affects a person’s motor neurons — that is, nerve cells that control the movement of muscles.
ALS is a kind of MND. It attacks the nerve cells that are used in voluntary muscle actions, known as motor neurons. These are actions that we can control, such as those in the arms, face, and legs.
Motor neurons are found in the brain and spinal cord. As ALS progresses, these cells degenerate and die. They stop sending messages to muscles. The brain can no longer control voluntary movement, and the muscles weaken and waste away.
What Researcher Found?
one such study suggested that the mercury in fish and seafood can double the risk of developing ALS in people who consume large amounts of fish.
Pesticides have also recently emerged as a potential risk factor.
A study suggesting that exposure to pesticides, such as dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT), methoxychlor, and benzene hexachloride may raise a person’s risk of developing ALS in their lifetime.
Researchers has uncovered another class of toxins that may have the same effect on ALS risk: polychlorinated biphenyls.
The new research suggests that these chemicals may not only raise the risk of developing ALS, but they also speed up the progression of the disease for people who already have it.
In the agricultural fields, people have used a wide range of pesticides and environmental chemicals, which can reach water supplies and persist in soil or river sediments for decades- the chemicals take decades to degrade.
If these chemicals are getting into the water b odies, such as lakes and rivers, this could be a source of exposure for everybody.