What is the difference between MND and ALS? Are the names used interchangeably?
The term Motor Neurone Disease actually describes a group of very similar conditions that affect motor neurones. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common type of MND and affects both the upper motor neurones (those running from the brain to spinal cord) and the lower motor neurones (those running from the spinal cord out to the muscles). Other types include Progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), which affects mainly the lower motor neurones, and Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), in which only the upper motor neurones are damaged. Although each of the types of MND affects people in slightly different ways, there can be a great deal of overlap. The name ALS is often used in America to describe MND in general. The disease is sometimes referred to in America as Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the famous New York Yankees baseball player who contracted the disease in the 1930s.
