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Nov 15, 2022 · Grammy-winning musician Roberta Flack, whose hits include “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and can no longer sing, her...
Nov 14, 2022 · Singer Roberta Flack is no longer able to sing following a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as ALS. Her management team announced Monday the singer's ALS symptoms have ...
- 2 min
Nov 14, 2022 · The brain disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or popularly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has made it "impossible to sing and not easy to speak," the spokesperson said in a press...
Nov 14, 2022 · By Matt Stevens. Nov. 14, 2022. Roberta Flack, the highly decorated vocalist whose smash hits like “Killing Me Softly With His Song” made her among the most recognizable voices of the 1970s,...
- Overview
- What is ALS?
- How does ALS affect people?
- Who is most at risk from ALS?
- What ALS medications are approved?
- What other treatments are available?
- What ALS research is being done?
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•Roberta Flack, known for songs such as “Killing Me Softly,” has been diagnosed with ALS.
•Her spokesperson said this week that the disease has left her unable to sing.
•ALS causes nerve cells that control voluntary muscles to stop working and die.
Grammy-winning musician Roberta Flack has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
This progressive nervous system disease has made it “impossible [for her] to sing and not easy to speak,” her spokesperson said in a statement sent to CNN on Monday. “But it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon.”
While ALS is a relatively rare disease, notable athletes, entertainers, politicians, and thousands of Americans have been affected by this disease.
ALS is a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing the cells to deteriorate and eventually die.
The disease specifically affects motor neurons, which control muscles that govern voluntary movements. When motor neurons die, the brain is no longer able to activate those muscles.
This can cause specific muscles to become weak and leads to paralysis. As a result, people may lose the ability to move, eat, speak and breathe.
In 2017, there were an estimated 18,000 to 32,000 cases of ALS in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The most common initial symptom of ALS is muscle weakness — which is usually painless.
Dr. Stephen Goutman, director of the Pranger ALS Clinic and associate director of the ALS Center of Excellence at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, said muscle weakness typically starts in one region of the body and then spreads to other areas.
Symptoms of ALS generally start gradually, but can vary among people, depending on which motor neurons are affected. Symptoms include:
•weakness or fatigue in the legs, feet, arms or hands
•tripping and falling
•dropping objects or other hand clumsiness
Certain factors increase the risk of developing ALS, including:
•Heredity. About 5-10% of ALS cases occur within families and are caused by genes known to be linked to ALS.
•Age. ALS typically occurs in people between 55 and 75 years of age, although cases can occur in younger people.
•Sex. Men have a slightly higher risk than women of developing ALS. Familial ALS occurs equally often in men and women.
•Genetics. Some studies suggest that 60% of the risk of non-inherited ALS is due to genetic factors. People who have these gene variations may be more likely to develop ALS.
In addition, research has found a possible link between ALS and certain environmental factors. More research is needed to fully understand these connections.
Three drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to slow down the progression of ALS:
•Riluzole (brand name Rilutek)
•Edaravone (brand name Radicava)
•Sodium phenylbutyrate and taurursodiol (brand name Relyvrio)
“These medications essentially do the same thing, in that they slow down the progression of the illness and probably extend the lifespan a little bit,” said Dr. Adam Quick, a neurologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.
“These drugs work in slightly different ways,” he added, “so the hope among ALS specialists is that we may be able to use all three medicines at the same time in a particular person, and slow down the progression of the disease more than with an individual medicine by itself.”
None of the FDA-approved ALS drugs stop or reverse the progression of the disease, but other treatments are available that can provide relief from symptoms and improve people’s quality of life.
“People get excited about new medications,” said Quick, “but a lot of the really helpful things right now are just supportive care.”
For example, physicians may prescribe medications to provide relief from symptoms that commonly occur in people with ALS, such as muscle cramps, fatigue, pain, depression, and sleep problems.
In addition, therapies are available to help improve a person’s physical functioning, including:
•Breathing care
•Physical therapy
Thanks to increased funding for ALS research, scientists are developing and testing other potential drugs for ALS. “So I think there’s a lot of hope on the horizon,” said Goutman.
These medications will first need to be tested in clinical trials to see how much they benefit people with this disease.
Goutman and his colleagues are also trying to identify environmental risk factors for ALS, work that could one day help reduce people’s risk of developing the disease.
In a study published earlier this year, they found that people with ALS reported higher workplace exposure to metals, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and combustion pollutants before their diagnosis, compared to people without ALS.
These exposures occur in “production” jobs such as manufacturing and welding.
“If we can identify who’s at highest risk of getting ALS, we can start thinking about what behavioral interventions we can do to lessen their risk,” said Goutman.
The Grammy-winning musician has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive nervous system disease that affects motor neurons. Learn about the symptoms, causes, treatments and medications of ALS, and how it affects people's quality of life.
- Shawn Radcliffe
Nov 14, 2022 · A representative for Roberta Flack announced on Monday that the Grammy-winning musician has ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and can no longer sing. The progressive disease “has...
Nov 15, 2022 · Published 6:11 AM PDT, November 15, 2022. NEW YORK (AP) — A representative for Roberta Flack announced Monday that the Grammy-winning musician has ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and can no longer sing. The progressive disease “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” Flack’s manager Suzanne Koga said in a release.
