Study Says Brain Trauma Can Mimic Lou Gehrigs Disease
In the 71 years since the Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig declared himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth, despite dying from a disease that would soon bear his name, he has stood as Americas leading icon of athletic valor struck down by random, inexplicable fate.
A peer-reviewed paper to be published Wednesday in a leading journal of neuropathology, however, suggests that Gehrigs demise and that of some other athletes and soldiers given a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrigs disease might have been catalyzed by injuries only now becoming understood: concussions and other brain trauma.
Although the paper does not discuss Gehrig specifically, its authors in interviews acknowledged the clear implication: Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrigs disease.............................
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/sports/18gehrig.html?_r=1
In the 71 years since the Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig declared himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth, despite dying from a disease that would soon bear his name, he has stood as Americas leading icon of athletic valor struck down by random, inexplicable fate.
A peer-reviewed paper to be published Wednesday in a leading journal of neuropathology, however, suggests that Gehrigs demise and that of some other athletes and soldiers given a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrigs disease might have been catalyzed by injuries only now becoming understood: concussions and other brain trauma.
Although the paper does not discuss Gehrig specifically, its authors in interviews acknowledged the clear implication: Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrigs disease.............................
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/sports/18gehrig.html?_r=1
