amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
noun
amyo·tro·phic lateral sclerosis
| \ ˌā-ˌmī-ə-ˈtrō-fik-
, -ˈträ-
\
, -ˈträ-
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Definition of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
: a rare progressive degenerative fatal disease affecting the motor neurons, usually beginning in middle age, and characterized especially by increasing and spreading muscular weakness and atrophy
—abbreviation ALS
— called also Lou Gehrig's disease
Examples of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Boylan was worried that some of her symptoms mirrored those found in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a rare and degenerative neurologic disease that affects the ability of muscles to function. — David Armstrong, ProPublica, "In Men, It’s Parkinson’s. In Women, It’s Hysteria.," 23 Aug. 2019 Yasuhiko Funago, a candidate who uses a wheelchair and has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Eiko Kimura, who has cerebral palsy, won seats. — Motoko Rich, New York Times, "Shinzo Abe Declares Victory in Japan Election but Without Mandate to Revise Constitution," 21 July 2019 The 34-year-old Frates is a former Eagles baseball captain who in 2012 was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease. — USA TODAY, "Moon rocks, Misty of Chincoteague, Haiku Stairs: News from around our 50 states," 28 June 2019 Lai has engineered some to age prematurely or develop neurodegenerative afflictions that mimic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and Huntington. — Jon Cohen, Science | AAAS, "China’s CRISPR push in animals promises better meat, novel therapies, and pig organs for people," 31 July 2019 McConnell says the swim would raise money for Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine to conduct research for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. — USA TODAY, "Tubing, Hemingway, great white sharks: News from around our 50 states," 21 July 2019 The third plaintiff, John Wilson, suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS and was unable to walk or talk. — Bob Egelko, SFChronicle.com, "Court reinstates suits by patients nursing homes refused to readmit," 18 July 2019 In August of 2017, Falivena was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. — Julius Long And Jill Martin, CNN, "Larry Falivena has ALS, and he's on a quest to raise awareness and visit all 30 MLB ballparks this season," 9 July 2019 Three years ago, Paul Rinderknecht was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the progressive paralysis known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. — Anne Saker, Cincinnati.com, "The Rinderknechts of Springfield Township take a summer vacation with serious illness," 11 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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