[Kim Jaeho's Life Story]<267> Prevention and Cure of Lou Gehrig's Disease

Stephen William Hawking, one of the greatest theoretical physicists in history who revolutionized the field with his research on the origin and structure of the universe?from the Big Bang to black holes?and regarded as a genius physicist following Einstein, passed away in 2018 at the age of 76. The disease that plagued him during his lifetime was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare disease he was diagnosed with at the age of 21.

At the time, doctors gave him a prognosis of only two years to live. Despite the progressive damage to his motor neurons caused by ALS, he fought the disease throughout his life and devoted himself to research, leaving outstanding achievements in astrophysics, including black hole and Big Bang theories. But what exactly is ALS?

All bodily functions are connected to the nervous system in some way, and there are more than 600 known types of neurological disorders. It is known that one in three people worldwide suffers from some form of neurological disorder, making them very common.

Among neurological disorders, those in which nerve cells die abnormally fast, leading to loss of brain and spinal cord function, are called neurodegenerative diseases. These include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ALS is a disease in which motor neurons that control voluntary muscles in the cerebral cortex, brainstem, and spinal cord die and disappear.

ALS is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS for short, and it is sometimes called "Lou Gehrig's disease" after the famous Major League Baseball player who died two years after being diagnosed with the disease in the 1930s.

When someone contracts ALS, the motor neurons located in the spinal cord that control voluntary muscles throughout the body?including those in the hands, feet, tongue, throat, and respiratory system?are destroyed. Initially, muscles in the hands, fingers, and legs weaken and thin, making speaking and swallowing difficult. As the disease progresses, overall muscle strength declines, leading to paralysis of the limbs, difficulty walking or moving, inability to stand independently, and breathing difficulties.

ALS is a fatal disease with no effective cure, and the average life expectancy of ALS patients is only 2 to 5 years after diagnosis. More than half of ALS patients survive more than 3 years after diagnosis; about 20% live more than 5 years, approximately 10% live more than 10 years, and about 5% live more than 20 years.

The somewhat fortunate aspect of ALS symptoms is that sensory nerves responsible for vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch are not destroyed, so sensory functions remain normal. Motor neurons controlling the eye muscles are not destroyed, allowing patients to communicate through eye movements. Additionally, motor neurons controlling the bladder and anal muscles are preserved, enabling patients to manage urination and defecation independently with some assistance.

ALS occurs in about 1 to 2 people per 100,000 annually. In South Korea, the number of patients diagnosed with ALS has steadily increased from 4,015 in 2015 to 5,293 in 2023. ALS severely diminishes quality of life, has a poor prognosis, is difficult to cure, and has a very high fatality rate.

Currently, there is no cure for ALS. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two types of drugs: one to slow the progression of ALS and another to reduce the rate of decline in daily functioning. In addition, treatments are provided to alleviate various symptoms such as muscle cramps, constipation, fatigue, pain, and depression.

The best way to overcome ALS is prevention, and to prevent it, the exact cause of ALS must be understood. What causes ALS?

Medical professionals believe that about 10% of ALS cases are inherited due to mutated genes passed from parents, while the remaining cases, like other neurodegenerative diseases, have unclear causes. Several hypotheses suggest that ALS develops from complex interactions between genes and environmental factors such as toxic substances or deficiencies in neurotrophic factors, but these perspectives offer little help in preventing ALS.

So, is there no good way to overcome ALS? There is something important to focus on for the prevention and cure of neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS.

Like other cells, a single nerve cell in the brain contains about 6 billion DNA molecules, which make up approximately 20,000 genes. For nerve cells to function normally, these 20,000 genes must remain undamaged, and genes that need to be activated must be properly turned on when necessary.

However, according to scientific research, cells in our body can have up to one million DNA damages per day out of the 6 billion DNA molecules that make up a single cell. Genes with damaged DNA that are not repaired remain inactive, rendering these cells unable to perform their functions. Therefore, all damaged DNA in every cell must be identified and replaced with new DNA of the same type.

The process of repairing damaged DNA involves an omnipotent intelligence within the cell that activates the necessary genes when needed. The author refers to this omnipotent intelligence as the "best doctor prepared inside my body." If we maintain good lifestyle habits, DNA damage is minimized and repaired well; if we have poor lifestyle habits, DNA damage increases and repair becomes difficult.

If too many DNA molecules in cells are excessively damaged or if the genes responsible for repairing damaged DNA fail to function properly, many cells will not be restored to normal, leading to various diseases. The same applies to nerve cells. If poor lifestyle habits that damage nerve cell DNA and hinder DNA repair are not corrected, nerve cell DNA will be extensively damaged, and repair will be inadequate, resulting in various neurological diseases, including ALS.

Understanding the cause of ALS clarifies the way to overcome it. We must correct poor lifestyle habits that interfere with the gene functions of nerve cells and create a good environment where the best doctor inside our body can enthusiastically work to ensure that necessary genes in nerve cells are properly activated when needed. This lifestyle is called Newstart (refer to Life Story Part 6).

Among the eight components of Newstart, the first is a life diet that involves eating a variety of plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, and grains, in their whole form without selective eating. Along with this, it is important to reduce the intake of sugar?which causes many problems when consumed excessively?as well as processed or refined bad carbohydrates, saturated fats, trans fats, salt, and alcohol. The other components of Newstart?exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest, trust, and love?are also important to practice.