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One Litre Of Tears

Aka １リットルの涙

(Ichi Rittoru no Namida)

Have you Watch this Show?..

If you have Not... I suggest you do cus its a wonderful drama.

Synopsis of show (from wikipedia)

15-year-old Ikeuchi Aya was an ordinary girl, the daughter of a family who works at a tofu shop, and a soon-to-be high schooler.

However, odd things have been happening to Aya lately. She has been falling down often and walks strange. Her mother, Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration - a terrible disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?

This beautifully moving drama is based on the real-life struggles of a 15-year-old girl named Kito Aya who suffered from an incurable disease, but lived life to the fullest until her death at 25. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The book that later followed entitled “One Litre of Tears" has sold over 1.1 million copies in Japan alone.Aya's only wish was “to live." By carefully depicting Aya's earnest desire to live, and the love of her family, friends, and lover, the drama, “One Litre of Tears" wishes to deliver her simple but strong message: “Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing." ---Fuji TV

Cast

Erika Sawajiri - Aya Ikeuchi
Hiroko Yakushimaru - Shioka Ikeuchi (Aya's mother)
Ryō Nishikido - Haruto Asō (Aya's later love interest and her lover)
Takanori Jinnai - Mizuo Ikeuchi (Aya's father)
Riko Narumi - Ako Ikeuchi (Aya's little sister)
Naohito Fujiki - Hiroshi Mizuno (Doctor)

Yuma Sanada - Hiroki Ikeuchi (Aya's little brother)
Ani Miyoshi - Rika Ikeuchi (Aya's littlest sister)

Special episode
On April 5, 2007, Fuji Television aired a three hour special of the series set half a year after Aya's death and focuses on Haruto Asō, who has now become a doctor at the same hospital Aya was treated in and Ako Ikeuchi, Aya's younger sister who is a training nurse. Haruto meets a 14 year old female patient, who also suffers from Spinocerebellar Degeneration, but has lost her will of living. It reminds Haruto of how Aya fought her illness and lived her life with her condition and he supports the patient. Aya reappears in the episode using a number of flashbacks from the series and in new scenes.[1]

Kito Aya Original Book

English Translation of Book: http://www.xanga.com/onelitre

Did Some Research on this Diagnosis..

its one is the group name which

Spinocerebullar degeneration/ Atrophy

or Ataxias and Cerebellar

belongs to

Spinal Muscle Atrophy

(SMA)

What ?

SMA refers to a group of diseases which affect the motor neurons of the spinal cord and brain stem.

These critically important cells are responsible for supplying electrical and chemical messages to muscle cells.

Without the proper input from the motor neurons, muscle cells can not function properly. The muscle cells will, therefore, become much smaller (atrophy) and will produce symptoms of muscle weakness. There are dozens of diseases which affect the motor neuron. (FightSMA. 2007)

Pathophysiology

Degeneration and death of the motor neurons (also called Anterior Horn Cells) in the brain stem and spinal cord produces weakness in the muscles of swallowing, breathing, and limbs.

Affects people from infant to adulthood.(FightSMA.2007)

Recent Research

Recent advances in our understanding of the genetics of this disorder confirm that the majority of children and adults afflicted with SMA, have inherited this disorder by receiving one gene from both their mother and their father.

This is termed autosomal recessive genetic transmission.(FightSMA.2007)

There are 4 types of SMA

Type One ~ Drs. Werdnig and Hoffman/Werdnig-Hoffman Disease

Type Two ~ SMA Type II

Type Three ~ SMA Type III

Type Four ~ SMA-TYPE IV ( Only occur in Adults)

~ FactSheet ~

(FightSMA.2007)

SMA kills more babies than any other genetic disease.

SMA is incurable, untreatable, fatal, and underfunded. (only can treat the underlying symptoms)

The gene is carried by seven million potential parents, unknowingly.

SMA is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease characterized by the dramatic loss of spinal motor neurons, resulting in muscle weakness, atrophy, and in the worst cases, the loss of ability to swallow and breathe. The mind remains unaffected, while the muscles waste away.

SMA presents in a broad clinical spectrum and is classified into three types based on disease severity: type I, type II, and type III. Approximately 65% of all new SMA patients are type I severe or type II.

SMA occurs when a vital gene ("survivor motor neuron" gene or "SMN") is deleted or mutated, preventing the creation of a protein necessary for muscle strength. A second, nearly identical copy gene, SMN2, is present in all SMA patients. SMA disease severity correlates inversely with increased SMN2 gene copy numbers

Signs & Symptoms

Swallowing : Difficulty in chewing leads to Pneumonia , Aspirations, Weight Loss and Dehydration

Arm & Leg Weakness: Progressive weakness and immobility of the arms and legs leads to orthopedic problems including tightness of the joints (contractures)

Mobility: At first, loss of balance n disturbance of Gait. Patient has high tendency of falling.Then patient is unable to move limbs so he/she will be confine in a wheelchair

Vision: Rapid, rhythmic, involuntary movements of the eye (nystagmus) causing Blurness

Respiratory: Shortness Of Breath..

Speech: Dysarthria (slowness and slurring of speech)

References

FightSMA. 2007. Spinal Muscular Atrophy - FightSMA. Retrieved on 6th August 2007 . From http://www.fightsma.org/

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 2007. NINDS Ataxias and Cerebellar or Spinocerebellar Degeneration Information Page - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes. Retrieved on 6th August 2007 From http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/ataxia/ataxia.htm

Wikipedia Foundation Inc.2007. One Litre Of Tears - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on 6th August 2007 From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Litre_of_Tears