Fascinating article at the NY Times. Researchers have found evidence that a lot of people who have been diagnosed with ALS - Lou Gehrig's disease - don't actually have it. Instead, they have a very similar condition that is caused by repeated head trauma.
That would explain why ALS seems to strike athletes and soldiers at a higher rate than the general population.
Gehrig suffered repeated concussions. They didn't even use batting helmets back then. And he was famous for being an "Iron Man" - playing every day no matter what injuries he suffered.
Of course they had no way to know back then, but now it's understood that repeated concussions can cause serious disability and even death. There is no way they'd allow Gehrig to play through concussions now like he did back then. Very sad. He might have had a much longer, healthier life, at the expense of his consecutive games streak.
Labels: science, science of sports
