Radicava is the first treatment approved for American sufferers in the condition in years, after a six-month clinical study in Japan showed it to be a success.
The disease is a rare condition that progressively damages parts of the nervous system, causing muscles to become weak and paralyzed. Sufferers, including Stephen Hawking, lose all physical control. Within a couple of years of diagnosis, most patients are longer able to walk, chew, speak, breathe, or even pass stool independently. Radicava is the first treatment approved for American sufferers in the condition in years, after a clinical study in Japan showed it to be a success. Announced the approval on Friday afternoon, regulators said it marked a major step for the ALS community. Currently, life expectancy for about half of those with ALS is three years from the start of symptoms. However, some people may live for up to 10 years, and in rarer circumstances even longer. ALS is also referred to as motor neurone disease, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the US baseball player when he was diagnosed in 1939 at just 36 years old. The condition can affect adults of all ages, including teenagers, although this is extremely rare. It’s usually diagnosed in people over 40, but most people with the condition first develop symptoms in their 60s. It affects slightly more men than women. There’s currently no cure. Treatment aims to make the person feel comfortable and have the best quality of life possible It also tries to compensate for the progressive loss of bodily functions such as mobility, communication, swallowing and breathing.
