4hw.com.cn: Recently, according to a comprehensive report by foreign media, Hawking, the world's most famous physicist and author of a brief history of time, died at the age of 76. Hawking suffered from disease and muscle atrophy before his death. Doctors had predicted that Hawking would only live to 23 years old, but Hawking created a miracle. Some netizens wondered what kind of disease Hawking had before his death? Let's have a look.
Hawking's other identity may be the world's most famous amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as progressive frostbite) patients.
Hawking entered Oxford University in 1959 and began his postgraduate program in Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1962. In 1963, Hawking, 21, was diagnosed with ALS and doctors said he had only two years to live.
The brain of genius is lucky enough, too, that its progress is slower than that of a normal patient. He began to use crutches and changed to a wheelchair a few years later. Later, the iconic movement, wheelchair with high-tech accessories and electronic synthesizer made a slow sound, which became his symbol.
Hawking once talked about death. 'I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first'。 For the past 49 years, I have lived in anticipation of premature death. I am not afraid of death, but I am not in a hurry to do so. I have too many things to do first.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, what is it?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as "gradually frozen human", is a nervous system disease. It refers to the muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, dysphagia, water and cough, unclear speech, accompanied by muscle jerking, and the enhancement of tendon reflex (including knee jerk reflex) and other symptoms caused by the injury of upper and lower motor neurons.
When I first knew ALS, I was still studying because my tutor participated in the compilation of the national unified textbook, in which the content of 'motor neuron disease' was drafted by me. ALS is one of these diseases.
At that time, I didn't know much about this disease in China, so I had to read a lot of materials to compile. However, I didn't have a deep understanding of the disease until I became a doctor and received several such patients in clinical practice, so I personally felt the 'heaviness' of the whole disease.
Extremely rare disease
ALS is a rare disease, which is likely to affect 4-6 people in every 100000 people. The neurons that control muscle movement gradually degenerate for unknown reasons. With the gradual death and disappearance of these motor neurons, the muscles gradually lose their ability to move, and gradually atrophy until death.
Most of ALS patients are adult onset, such an acquired disease means that a person slowly loses the ability to exercise and self-care.
At first, it may just be that the fingers are not so flexible, and then there is no way to hold the teacup with one hand, and soon there will be no way to comb the hair, and the natural and unrestrained action of the normal people's hands crossing at the back of their head will gradually go away, and they will never be completed again & hellip; & hellip;
Every neuroscientist knows that the lower limbs will inevitably be affected soon after the emergence of various motor disorders of the upper limbs. It's probably only a dozen months from being able to cycle around Qinghai Lake to the upper two floors.
When the muscles atrophy and the muscles in charge of speaking, ALS patients will slowly lose the ability to speak. Finally, they can only use the eye tracker to help expression. When the eating and breathing muscles are affected, it means that death is very near. In this period of time, the feeling of being unable to breathe enough oxygen is always accompanied by the patient, which is like the nightmare of "ghost pressure" and underwater suffocation.