Was Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Named For The Wrong Person?

I'm going to take a little bit of blogetic license with this one. Today's (official) topic is language, but I'm going to talk about sports and neurology...and tie those into names, those being a part or perhaps a product of language.

A new study has been done on ALS at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, MA and the Boston University School of Medicine (in Boston, of course.) The study indicates that NFL players and boxers who have suffered conditions such as concussions and other brain trauma exhibit symptoms similar to Lou Gehrig's Disease (known scientifically as ALS.) In order to determine whether one has (or has died from) ALS, specific markings must be found in the spinal cord. These markings were not found in the football players or boxer.

Gehrig's case in particular is less clear considering that he was cremated and his ashes laid to rest in a cemetery. The difficulty in his situation is that his spinal cord cannot be tested for the ALS markings. It is known, however, that he was subjected to a physically aggressive college football and major league baseball career that did result on several occasions in head trauma. So, in effect, Gehrig's true illness and cause of death may never be known.

New Fact: Lou Gehrig may not have actually died from Lou Gehrig's Disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis aka ALS.)

Source: http://learnsomethingnewblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/was-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als.html