Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurological disease that

causes dysfunction of the nerves that control muscle movement. Over time, this leads to
muscle weakness, gradually affecting how the body functions. In the late stages of ALS,
the condition affects nerves that control breathing and other vital bodily functions,
resulting in death.
ALS is the most common type of motor neuron disease (MND); in the US, most people
use the term ALS to mean MND. ALS is sometimes also referred to as Lou Gehrig's
disease, after the famous baseball player who had the condition.
The disease was first discovered in 1869 by the French neurologist Jean-Martin
Charcot, and first written about in 1874, but it was the impact on Gehrig's career that
truly brought ALS into public awareness in 1939.
2

According to the ALS Association, about 6,400 people are diagnosed with the condition
every year in the US, with an estimated 20,000 living with ALS at any one moment.3