Know all about ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

New Delhi: Not being active on networking sites couldn't be an excuse for not being familiar with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. This fad seems to have swept the social media fraternity by storm lately. The internet has seen torrents of videos of celebrities, business moguls and politicians dunking into ice buckets and challenging three more people to do the same, but honestly, how many of us know what it is all about? Hardly few. So why don't we feed ourselves with some knowledge?Well if some of you are intrigued to read on, the purpose of this challenge has virtually been accomplished.To lay it down in the simplest manner possible, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is an awareness drive initiated by Pete Frates, where ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.We will learn about the awareness activity a little later, first let's get familiar with this disease.ALS, popularly known as Lou Gehrig's disease is an unyielding disease that affects at least two people in every 10,000.The onset of ALS is insidious with muscle weakness or stiffness as early symptoms. Progression of weakness, wasting and paralysis of the muscles of the limbs and trunk as well as ones controlling speech, swallowing and later breathing generally follows.So basically, in this disease the motor neurons deteriorate till the time the patient becomes completely paralyzed and eventually succumbs to the pain.A patient diagnosed with ALS has an average life expectancy from two to five years from onset of symptoms.ALS, despite being a dreadful and fatal disease, lacked the awareness and knowledge amongst the people.For all we know, there are no curative measures one can take after being diagnosed with it. All a patient can do is to rely on the medicine called Rilutek which slows the progression by decreasing the glutamate levels.The ‘ALS Ice Bucket Challenge' has rendered this disease the awareness it needed.Pete Frates, former captain of the Boston College baseball team was diagnosed with ALS too. He is the one all these viral videos spreading awareness can be attributed to. So this is where the ‘ALS Ice Bucket Challenge' began.The deal is simple. You have to take up the challenge by a friend or colleague and get soaked in a bucket of ice water, you have 24 hours to either donate USD 100 to the cause or post a video showing yourself dumping a bucket of ice water on yourself.Many of them have large-heartedly done both. Further, you have to nominate three others to take up the challenge. And thus, the challenge relays.The social sites have been inundated with the videos of celebrities from various domains tipping buckets of ice water on themselves.From ex-president George W Bush to incumbent Barack Obama, pop stars Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Rita Ora and right across to Business tycoons like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg added momentum to this raging trend.Sports stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Steven Gerrard, Vincent Kompany, Neymar, Mario Balotelli and David Beckham have also not refrained from contributing to the awareness and funds for this movement.Bollywood has also been actively participated and contributed to this fund-raising activity. Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Mandira Bedi, Siddharth Malhotra and Vishal Dadlani are some of them who took the challenge.Sonakshi Sinha though not nominated by anyone, posted quite a sensitive video responsive towards the wastage of water.The Businessmen were also no less. Raj Kundra participated and made a big contribution to the ALS foundation.This noble cum amusing deed has been successful in raising more than USD 50 million for ALS Association which will be utilized in the research study of this disease. The collection is incomparably more than what has been in the past decade.But despite all the traction, there have been a few like Pamela Anderson, expressing flak about this spiraled citing wastage of water and swarmed timelines.The ALS Association has reportedly acknowledged that it uses rodents, flies and worms to better understand disease mechanisms and to develop therapies after Pamela Anderson came to criticize openly.This might have led some to give a negative fling to the deed but largely observed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been an enormous contribution to a big cause.