Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a progressive neurological disease affecting nerve cells that control voluntary muscles.
Early symptoms can be subtle and vary from person to person. Common first symptoms include:
-
Muscle weakness, often beginning in one hand, arm, leg, or on one side of the body.
-
Tripping or difficulty walking, such as catching your foot or having trouble climbing stairs.
-
Dropping objects or difficulty with buttons, writing, or other fine hand movements.
-
Muscle twitching (fasciculations), especially in the arms, legs, shoulders, or tongue.
-
Muscle cramps or stiffness.
-
Slurred speech or difficulty speaking when the muscles involved in speech are affected first.
-
Difficulty swallowing or excessive saliva in some people.
-
Less commonly, ALS initially affects breathing muscles, causing shortness of breath, particularly when lying down.
Importantly, these symptoms do not automatically mean ALS. Many much more common and treatable conditions can cause muscle twitching, weakness, cramps, or numbness.
If you’re asking because you or someone you know has new or progressive muscle weakness, especially weakness that is getting worse over weeks or months, a doctor—often a neurologist—should evaluate it. Sudden weakness, facial drooping, or difficulty speaking requires emergency medical attention, because these can be signs of a stroke.
