New ALS Device
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(ABC 6 NEWS) Building a home with his own hands was the dream of Ernie Lorenz.

But symptoms of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, made it difficult for Ernie to hold a hammer.

The disease was also making it hard for him to breathe.

But a new device being researched at Mayo Clinic may help Ernie and other ALS patients breathe easier longer.

"What I wanted to do was take a couple years off and build another house. But that's just up in smoke now,” says Lorenz.

The neurodegenerative condition for which there is no cure weakens Ernie's muscles and slowly robs him of the use of his hands, arms, legs and even his ability to breathe.

"I can't really designate what's the biggest problem with ALS. It's all a problem, you know, the inability to walk real good or hold things in your hands, stuff like that. But the scariest thing is breathing."

Your diaphragm works like bellows.

When it contracts it causes a negative pressure and air is sucked into your lungs.

When als weakens the diaphragm your lungs don't fill up with air.

You can't breathe well.

Many patients need mechanical assistance either with non-invasive equipment or from a ventilator.

But Mayo Clinic Dr. Kevin Boylan and Surgeon Daniel Smith are teaming up with experts in the U.S. and Europe to study a device that may help people like Ernie breathe easier and stay off a ventilator longer.

During surgery, Dr. Smith attaches electrical wires to the diaphragm.

The wires extend through the skin to an electronic stimulation device.

When the device is turned on, the electrical current contracts the diaphragm, giving it a work out making it stronger so it can function better.

"It used to be only occasionally I’d get what I’d call a really good breath. A deep breath. Lately, I can get two or three in a row,” says Lorenz.

The device works for Ernie.

And if the study proves positive, others with ALS may benefit too.

Dr. Boylan says that this device will not stop the progression of ALS.

But in a smaller study the device appeared to help patients breathe on their own longer than if they had not used the device at all.

Dr. Boylan hopes this technology will help improve the quality of life for many patients with ALS as they struggle with this disease.



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