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What Is ALS, And Why Are People Dumping Ice On Their Heads?

What Is ALS, And Why Are People Being Doused In Icy Water?

In the past couple of weeks, you likely saw plenty of this on the Internet.

Celebrities all over the world have been taking the so-called "Ice Bucket Challenge" to raise awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating illness.

But what is this condition, and why is it receiving so much attention?

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease. People who have it gradually become paralyzed as lower and upper neurons in the brain and spinal cord break down, ALS Canada explains.

Those neurons are connected to voluntary muscle movement, and as they degenerate, they affect a patient's ability to walk, talk and swallow, Maclean's reported.

It is estimated that 80 per cent of people who have ALS die two to five years after they've been diagnosed. Ten per cent of people with the illness can live up to a decade or longer, said ALS Canada.

The condition has long been known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, after the New York Yankees great who didn't miss a game in 13 seasons before he had to retire due to the illness.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been around for months, but it became a popular trend thanks to Pete Frates, a ex-Boston College baseball player who was diagnosed with the illness in 2012.

In late July, he challenged a number of people to douse themselves in ice water, including New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Soon, baseball players who knew Frates decided to do it themselves and the challenge spread far and wide, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The entire New England Patriots roster, for example, took up the challenge together.

Frates later did the challenge himself at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox.

The ALS Association in the U.S. describes the rules of the campaign as follows:

"The challenge involves people getting doused with buckets of ice water on video, posting that video to social media, then nominating others to do the same, all in an effort to raise ALS awareness. Those who refuse to take the challenge are asked to make a donation to the ALS charity of their choice."

It has certainly proven fruitful, having led to an estimated 1,000 per cent spike in donations to the association compared to the same period last year. Other estimates for donations related to ALS have been pegged at $2.3 million since July 29.

But the practice has its critics. While supporting the campaign, Time's Jacob Davidson wondered whether those who dumped ice water on their heads weren't donating any money to help combat the disease.

"The challenge even seems to be suggesting that being cold, wet, and uncomfortable is preferable to fighting ALS," he wrote.

In the end, however, he said it has done plenty of good, and he'll partake himself.

And so will others, it seems, for as long as the trend lasts.

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