What is ALS, the “cruel” disease that caused the death of a photographer who was a couple with actress Sandra Bullock at the age of 57.

“We are asking for privacy at this time in order to grieve and accept the inability to say goodbye to Brian.”

This is the opinion of the family of American photographer Brian Randall, who died on August 5 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that degeneratively and progressively affects the nervous system, causing irreversible motor paralysis.

The death of 57-year-old Randall was announced in a statement released by an American magazine. People.

The photographer had an eight-year relationship with actress Sandra Bullock, who courted him for three years while he was ill.

Randall’s family claimed that the photographer “he decided from the start to keep his trip with ALS a secret“.

“Those of us who care about him have done everything possible to fulfill his request.

“At this time we ask for privacy to cry and accept the inability to say goodbye to Brian.

Randall’s family has asked those who want to honor his memory to do so by donating to ALS associations and Massachusetts General Hospital.

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What is BAS?

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive disease with no cure.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is considered one of the motor neuron diseases that affects two out of every 100,000 people on the planet.

Happens when the neurons of affected patients wear out or die and they can no longer send messages to the muscles.

This causes, in the short to medium term, muscle weakness, involuntary contractions, and an inability to move the arms, legs, and body.

Usually begins with muscle spasms and weakness in one arm or leg, difficulty swallowing or speaking, but as it progresses it affects the ability to move and even breathe.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the most common cause of death for people with ALS is respiratory failure.

Weakness of the muscles involved in swallowing also increases the risk of food, liquid, or saliva entering the lungs, which can cause pneumonia.

Death usually occurs three to five years after diagnosis. However, some patients survive longer than this time.

About 10% of cases of people with ALS respond to a genetic or hereditary cause. In the rest, the cause is unknown, according to this medical institution.

ALS is one of the major neurodegenerative diseases.along with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, age is the most important prognostic factor for its onset, as it is more common in patients between the ages of 55 and 75.

British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018, was one of the most famous ALS sufferers. He lived 54 years with the disease, a phenomenon for which most scientists do not have an adequate explanation.

ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, named after a former New York Yankees baseball player who suffered from it and died at the age of 38 in 1941.

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signs of illness

Symptoms usually begin after the age of 50, but may also appear in younger people.

This disease usually does not affect the senses.which include the ability to taste, smell, see, touch and hear.

Symptoms in people with ALS include:

• Gradual loss of muscle strength and coordination;

• Inability to perform routine tasks such as climbing stairs, walking, and lifting weights

• Difficulty breathing and swallowing;

• suffocates easily;

• muscle twitching;

• speech problems, such as slow or abnormal speech (slurred speech);

• voice changes, hoarseness;

risk of suffering ALS has been linked to environmental factorsc, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Available data show that smoking is a risk factor, as is exposure to lead or other substances in the workplace or home.