Treatment and main complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: a literature review

Background: Greek, the word sklerosis means hardening. In medicine, the term sclerosis refers to the stiffening of body tissues - scars. These scars (sclerosis), when located in motor neurons, are signs of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that affects neurons located in the primary motor cortex, brain stem, spinal cord and pyramidal tract. ALS has no cure and its treatment options are currently limited. Objectives: Review on the major complications of ALS, as well as the therapeutic methods for its treatment. Methods: Study conducted trough articles found on The New English Journal of Medicine, SpringerLink and Scholar Google and dated between 2009 and 2021. Results: ALS is known for the gradual atrophy of the muscle fibers associated with muscle loss, dysarthria and dysphagia complicated by sialorrhea, depending on the condition. All forms of the disease lead to paralysis, which causes the main consequent complication for the early mortality of patients - respiratory failure. The treatment of ALS has only one specific approved drug: riluzole, which decreases motor neuron damage, reducing disease progression and increasing patient survival. New therapeutic methods are being studied, such as treatment with stem cells and STING- induced inflammation, but they remain with limited evidence. Conclusions: ALS still has extremely restricted targeted treatment. There’s evident need for further studies aimed at a greater understanding of therapies with the potential to become effective in delaying the progression of the disease.