February 28, 2005
The disease, also known as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and popularly as Lou Gehrig's Disease might affect as many as 1 in 1000 people and slowly, gradually and irreversably disables the brain's abilty to control the body's voluntary muscles. ALS has no effect on mental cognition. People with ALS live over time to experience their bodies slow down and stop. Dying from ALS is like being slowly being buried alive. The process from healthy and mobile to immobile usually takes from 2-5 years and most often results in death due to asphyxiation unless a breathing system is installed. There are rare exeptions to this tragic fate and this disease has created legal havoc in it's time. The possibility of a cure is a perennial hope, but neurology as a medical science is famously far behind the rest of bilology. For those who have ALS and for their families and friends it often seems like there is no hope. There are drugs but their efficacy is unproven and so clinical trials are ongoing. And so Dr. Olney is still doing his part.
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Hmm... so ALS is not contagious, yet 90% of cases are of unknown (non-genetic) origin, and the top researcher in the field who deals with ALS patients all day is diagnosed with this disease which has a probability of 0.001%. This could be phenomenally bad luck, but it could also suggest there's a disease vector medicine has not yet discovered. Remember, we didn't understand prion diseases until 1982. What's to say the disease is mildly contagious with an unknown vector? Anyway, much respect to this guy, and a tragic end for someone who did a lot of good work for society.
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He's not dead yet, man!
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Not technically dead, but according to his own research he'll be dead in two years (unless he's got the Stephen Hawking variety).
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There is no single "variety" of ALS. You are a crass asshole, 606.
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There is no single "variety" of ALS. That's exactly what 606 just said.
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Breakthrough could lead to effective treatment for ALS