Without electical discharges from the nerves, the muscles wither. As the Web site of the ALS Society explains: “A-myotrophic comes from the Greek language. ‘A’ means no or negative. ‘Myo’ refers to muscle, and ‘trophic’ means nourishment—‘No muscle nourishment.’ When a muscle has no nourishment, it ‘atrophies’ or wastes away.