What You Need To Know About The World’s First Human Cyborg – SlashGear

There are several kinds of motor neuron disease, but the most well-known is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) which has affected a number of public figures and was the subject of a viral charity challenge a few years back. Dr. Scott-Morgan suffered from the condition, as did astrophysicist Professor Stephen Hawking, and baseball hall of famer Lou Gehrig.

As its name suggests, the disease affects nerve cells known as motor neurons which are present in a person’s brain and spinal cord. MND causes these cells to die, and messages are then unable to be sent from the brain to other parts of the body. ALS affects neurons in both the brain and spinal cord, which means sufferers eventually lose control of their muscles. The unused muscles then atrophy. ALS sufferers eventually become paralyzed, and as some of the affected muscles are required for things like eating and breathing, the condition is fatal. According to Web MD, anyone can get the disease, it is most commonly diagnosed in people aged between 40 and 50, and sufferers tend to survive between three and five years, though some have lasted over a decade. There is currently no cure for ALS or any other motor neuron disease, though if Scott-Morgan was correct, advances in medicine and technology could change that.