3 Rare Diseases that Deserve Some “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” Type of Attention

By: Jasmine York, contributing writer

In light of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge sweeping the web and helping to raise over $88.5 million in donations to help patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, it’s only fitting to bring awareness to other life-threatening diseases affecting thousands of lives within our nation that could also benefit from some “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” type of attention.

Below are three rare diseases that are similar to ALS because they too are in need of a cure and thousands of people are suffering because of the lack of awareness and funding each year. There are tons of other diseases with needs as well, but here is just a few.

Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS): PLS is a neurodegenerative disease that typically affects the upper motor neurons found in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms typically progress as the degeneration continues. There are treatments, but a cure has yet to be developed.

Lyme Disease: Lyme disease is a vector-borne disease spread by insects. Symptoms include a skin rash, joint pain, Bell’s Palsy, and in some cases an irregular heartbeat. There’s medication available to treat symptoms, but no cure has been developed.

Huntington’s Disease: With Huntington’s Disease, a mutation in the gene leads to these patients gradually losing control of their muscle movements and could lead to dementia. There is currently no cure or this disease, but treatments are available.

A lot of rare diseases don’t have cures, not because of the impossibility, but because there hasn’t been enough research or funds available to help find the cure. Progress for the type of help these deserving causes need starts with one, but it’s a team effort. Afterall, isn’t that how the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge started anyway?