Did Lou Gehrig not have Lou Gehrig's Disease?

[Bill V]

There's a very interesting report being published today, reporting that many athletes and soldiers who have been diagnosed with ALS (more commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease") may actually not have the disease at all, and may instead be suffering the effects of concussions and other brain trauma. And with Lou Gehrig himself having had a history of concussions, the obvious implication is--Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrig's Disease.



I post this here both because it's generally interesting, and because many of our longer-term members were personally affected by this disease when one of our prominent members, Ron Brezina, succumbed to the disease nearly 6 years ago.



RIP Ron...:haveabeer:

 

[Richard L]

Bill V,

I saw that on the news the other evening and also thought it was interesting. However, since the simptoms and the end results are the same, does it really matter? Doctor's cannot distinquish one from the other, and there appears to be no cure for either. Perhaps ALS does not exist and all persons who were thought to have ALS only suffered from one or more concusions they suffered much earlier in their life?



Until researchers can identify and distinquish between the two, and can find a sucessful treatment for either of them, it really does not matter if Lou Gehrig died of ALS or from previous multiple concusions.



...Rich

 

[Bill V]

Rich--



Does it matter whether Lou himself had the disease or not? No, not really.



Does it matter that these people are being misdiagnosed? Absolutely. It has the potential to greatly affect how concussions are treated, and what methods are used to diagnose and treat them, both immediately upon them occurring and longer term. This goes not only for medical professionals, but for lay people like coaches. It also likely will have a significant impact on brain trauma research--now that a link has been found between brain trauma and these ALS-like symptoms, far more investigation will be happening to try to determine how the one is causing the other, how it can be treated at the time of the concussion to avoid or delay the longer-term consequences, and how the concussions can be avoided or diminished through things like helmet design to reduce the ALS-like possibilities.

 

[Les]

And with Lou Gehrig himself having had a history of concussions, the obvious implication is--Lou Gehrig might not have had Lou Gehrig's Disease.

If this is true, you would think you would see a greater incidence of ALS in football players.

 

[Bill V]

If this is true, you would think you would see a greater incidence of ALS in football players.

It's my understanding that they are seeing exactly that, particularly among those with a playing history involving concussions. It's a large part of the reason that Roger Goodell and the NFL have become so strict about how players experiencing any kind of head trauma are handled prior to being allowed back on the field.



Also, part of the research which went into this study was the evaluation of the brains of some former football players and other athletes who suffered numerous concussions in their playing careers and who died supposedly of ALS, and who agreed before they died to donate their brains to this research. Former Minnesota Viking linebacker Wally Hilgenberg, who died a year or so ago, was one of those study participants.



A number of current athletes have also agree to donate their brains to such research when they die, even though most of them have had no ALS-like symptoms or diagnosis to date. I remember hearing that Matt Birk is one of them. This all came out last year, well before the recent findings became public.

 

[Richard L]

Bill V.

I agree that if we can identify different ways to treat concussions we might prevent people from getting what we are now assuming is ALS. Perhaps ALS does not exists and evertyone who has been diagnosed with ALS is actually suffering from some sort of damage caused by repeated concussions. The point is that doctors cannot distinguish if the person has ALS or concussion damage.



As Les indicated, we should see higher incidents of ALS in people who participated in activities that are prone to cause concussions, like Football, Boxing, or other Martial arts even hockey, socker, and lacrosse would be some rough, high contact sports.



I know there are tests that doctors use to confim that a patient has ALS. I don't know if the test is like a blood test, or if it is some kind of motorskills test? In either case, it only identifies ALS after the condition has resulted in symptoms and at that point we have no cure or the ability to slow it's degenerative progress.



Perhaps ALS is some sort of a genetic weakness that can be triggered by concussions?



...Rich

 

[Bill V]

Rich, all great questions. Hopefully someday soon, science will find the answers to them. I have to think that the studies announced in the past couple days are a big step in the right direction.

 

[Richard L]

Bill V,

I agree 100% that this research has probably opened up many doors, however it does not do much for Lou Gehrig or Ron Brezina now.



...Rich

 

[Bill V]

Rich, I disagree. I suspect that somewhere, both of them are pleased to see such progress being made to defeat the disease(s) they battled. And I suspect that goes for both of their families as well.

 

[Richard L]

Bill V,

I would like to think that they feel that way too, but I also know that sometimes families don't feel that way and may look at it as being too little, too late. Kind of like ripping a scab off of a partially healed wound.



I do appreciate your viewpoint and agree with you.



...Rich