What treatments are available for people with ALS?
Presently, there is no cure for ALS. However, as more and more research is done on brain diseases, doctors are learning more about what causes ALS and how to best treat it. This has led to the development of medications to treat ALS. Riluzole, an antiglutamate agent, is the first FDA-approved drug for the treatment of patients with ALS. Although Riluzole is not a cure, results of clinical trials indicate some promise in prolonging life, especially with bulbar patients. The current trend is to evaluate potential additive or synergistic effects of drug combinations (how well two or more drugs may work better than one alone). As with any incurable disease, the state of the art in treatment for ALS is symptom management (also referred to as palliative care ). According to the World Health Organization, palliative care is active care of the total patient. Individuals with ALS receive the best treatment from multidisciplinary clinical teams that specialize in neuromuscular disorders. Interve
