Why is als called lou gehrig

This frightened Ferrell. In the following season, Lou Gehrig played in the first 8 games — and managed just four hits. Doctors soon later diagnosed the player with ALS. Now, over 75 years from his death, the disease that ended his career and took his life still devastates our world.

Lou Gehrig, however, did not consider himself to be a victim. Share Tweet Share Share. What Is ALS? Who Was Lou Gehrig? Over time, ALS causes the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to shrink and disappear, so that the muscles no longer receive signals to move.

So, the muscles get smaller and weaker. Gradually the body becomes paralyzed, which means that the muscles no longer work. However, someone with ALS, even at an advanced stage, can still see, hear, smell, and feel touch. The nerves that carry feelings of hot, cold, pain, pressure, or even being tickled, are not affected by Lou Gehrig's disease. In some people with ALS, the parts of the brain that allow us to think, remember, and learn also are affected by the disease.

Although this disease can strike anyone, ALS is extremely rare in kids. According to the ALS Association, most people who develop it are adults between 40 and Only 2 out of every , people will get the disease each year. It's not contagious, so you can't catch ALS from someone who has it. Lou Gehrig's disease is different for every person who has it. In general, muscle weakness, especially in the arms and legs, is an early symptom for more than half of people with ALS.

Other early signs are tripping or falling a lot, dropping things, having difficulty speaking, and cramping or twitching of the muscles. As the disease gets worse over time, eating, swallowing, and even breathing may become difficult.

It may take several months to know for sure that someone has Lou Gehrig's disease. The illness can cause symptoms similar to other diseases that affect nerves and muscles, including Parkinson's disease and stroke. A doctor will examine the patient and do special tests to see if it might be one of those other disorders.

One of the tests, an electromyogram say: eh-lek-tro-MY-uh-gram , or EMG, can show that muscles are not working because of damaged nerves. While the search for an effective treatment and cure continues, multidisciplinary teams across the globe are assisting patients and their families to adjust to the many challenges of living with ALS.

These teams of specialists use devices and therapies to help patients manage their ALS symptoms and to allow people with the disease to maintain their independence and quality of life. This multidisciplinary approach has also been shown to prolong survival of people who have ALS. Many people with ALS and other neuromuscular diseases decide to take part in research studies to help test new medications and treatments aimed at treating the disease.

What is ALS? What are the symptoms of ALS? Who gets ALS? What causes ALS? How is ALS diagnosed? Is there a cure for ALS? How is ALS treated? Defective glutamate metabolism Free radical injury Mitochondrial dysfunction Gene defects Programmed cell death or apoptosis.

Cytoskeletal protein defects Autoimmune and inflammatory mechanisms Accumulation of protein aggregates clumps Viral infections. Back in the Game patient stories. In-person and virtual physician appointments. Book online. Urgent Ortho Care. Same-day in-person or virtual appointments.