May Declared ALS Awareness Month in Pennsylvania

Major League Baseball has joined with local ALS Association chapters to sponsor awareness days -- the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted theirs this Sunday, May 3rd, when they play the Cincinatti Reds. State Senator Larry Farnese of Philadelphia, who sponsored the resolution of ALS Month, says about 5,000 are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease for the famous Yankee who died from it, ALS is characterized by a degeneration of motor cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness. As the disease progresses, severe impairment of mobility, speech, swallowing, and respiratory function follows. While recent research has shed light on possible causes of ALS, its cure remains elusive.