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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (aka ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a devastating disease that is nearly always fatal within 5 years of onset. The symptoms are similar to many other neuropathies beginning with weakening of the limbs, leading to partial or total paralysis and an increasing difficulty in breathing. Due to similarities in their symptomatic progression can be difficult to differentiate ALS from several other disease mimics (motor neuropathy, progressive muscle atrophy, etc.) until it is too late for intervention to have any real effect. With an earlier diagnosis, and therefore earlier treatment, current clinical care may significantly increase the lifespan of these patients.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant healthcare concern in the US, affecting 1.7 million individuals each year. There are approximately 1,365,000 emergency department visits each year for TBI, which equates to 3,740 per day. Of these, approximately 75% are the results of concussion and other forms of mild TBI. Falls are the leading cause of TBI, and motor vehicle accidents the leading cause of TBI related deaths. Most traumatic brain injuries result in widespread damage to the brain because the brain ricochets inside the skull during the impact of an accident. The direct medical costs and indirect costs of TBI, such as lost productivity, totaled an estimated $60 billion in the US for the year 2000 (Source: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).