Ask the Doc: Q & A with Edward Kasarskis, MD, PhD

Edward Kasarskis, MD, PhD is Director of the University of Kentucky ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Kentucky, and Chief of Neurology at the VA Medical Center in Lexington KY. 

Dr. Kasarskis

Q:  What are the most commonly asked questions you hear from people with ALS?

Dr. Kasarskis:  The questions I get vary depending on whether you’ve just been diagnosed or have been dealing with the disease for awhile. But, I frequently am asked what causes ALS, how people can help themselves with good nutrition, and what exercises people can do. Most people ask for a sense of whether their form of ALS is faster or slower moving than average. People want to know whether their children and grandchildren are at risk, or if ALS is infectious and transmittable to a spouse or family member (which of course it is not).

Many people with ALS wonder if they developed the disease from something in their environment such as a factory, a medication, factors at home, or extreme exercise, such as marathons or long-distance cycling. The ALS Association effectively lobbied Congress to establish a National Registry that may help us better understand whether some people may be more susceptible to certain environmental or lifestyle factors than are others. The ALS Registry Act, signed into law in October, 2008, requires the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) to establish a national registry to collect data on ALS and other motor neuron diseases by 2011.

Each issue we feature a leading neurologist specializing in ALS responding to a question. If you would like to submit questions for a future Q & A, please send your questions to Amber Walters. Please understand that we won’t be able to address all questions and we won’t be able to respond to individuals personally.