amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

13 Stories

After Private 3-Year Health Battle, Sandra Bullock's Partner Dies

Bryan Randall was 57

(Newser) - Sandra Bullock's longtime partner died Saturday at age 57, after a three-year health battle that he kept out of the public eye. Bryan Randall died of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), the progressive neurodegenerative disease that was for years known as Lou Gehrig's disease, his family says in a...

Manager: Roberta Flack Now Finds It 'Impossible to Sing'

Grammy-winning singer has ALS

(Newser) - A representative for Roberta Flack announced Monday that the Grammy-winning musician has ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and can no longer sing. The progressive disease "has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak," Flack's manager Suzanne Koga said in a release....

She Doesn't Have a Terminal Illness. She'll Die on Sunday

Martha Sepulveda to die by euthanasia in Colombia, which in July loosened its right-to-die rules

(Newser) - In late 2018, Martha Sepulveda was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the progressive neurological condition also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. On Sunday, the 51-year-old Colombian mother and devout Catholic will die by legally permitted euthanasia—the first in her nation to be allowed to do so despite not...

Patrick Quinn 'Was a Blessing to Us All'

He helped create the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

(Newser) - Patrick Quinn, a co-creator of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, died Sunday after battling Lou Gehrig's disease for 7 years. He was only 37, TMZ reports. "It is with great sadness that we must share the passing of Patrick early this morning," said his official Faceboo k...

'The Face of the Ice Bucket Challenge' Dead at 34

Pete Frates, who battled ALS, popularized the challenge

(Newser) - Pete Frates, a former college baseball player whose determined battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease made him, per CBS Boston , "the face of" the ALS ice bucket challenge that has raised more than $200 million worldwide, died Monday, the AP reports. He was 34. Frates died peacefully, surrounded by...

NFL Player Who Made 'the Catch' Dead at 61
49ers Mourn
Receiver
Who Made
'The Catch'
OBITUARY

49ers Mourn Receiver Who Made 'The Catch'

Dwight Clark, who was behind one of NFL's greatest plays, dies at age 61 after ALS battle

(Newser) - An ex-NFL player known for a play that pushed the San Francisco 49ers into a championship run in the '80s died Monday at the age of 61 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, per ESPN . "I'm heartbroken to tell you that today I lost...

She Raised $800K for Those Battling ALS. Now She's One of Them

'I hope that my story will inspire others'

(Newser) - Over seven years, Virginia's Beth Prever raised $800,000 for ALS research because she "felt like having ALS would be a worst-case scenario diagnosis. It's like living in a glass coffin—your mind is intact, but your body is failing," she tells People . She now understands...

Stephen Hawking Wasn't Supposed to Live Past 25
How Has Stephen Hawking Lived With ALS for 52 Years?
in case you missed it

How Has Stephen Hawking Lived With ALS for 52 Years?

Experts call the 73-year-old physicist's long-term survival 'extraordinary'

(Newser) - An ALS patient's life expectancy averages just two to five years after diagnosis, and only about 5% make it past 20 years, the ALS Association notes. But Stephen Hawking, the 73-year-old theoretical physicist and subject of an Academy Award-winning biopic , has beaten the odds and lived with his motor...

Company Pulls Drug for Lou Gehrig's Disease

Biogen ends development after it fails drug trial

(Newser) - An experimental drug that showed promise of becoming the first effective treatment for Lou Gehrig’s Disease is being pulled by its manufacturer because it performed miserably in a major drug trial. Biogen says its drug, dexpramipexole, did nothing to improve the condition of patients or extend their lives, reports...

Lou Gehrig May Not Have Had Lou Gehrig's Disease
Lou Gehrig May Not Have
Had Lou Gehrig's Disease
study says

Lou Gehrig May Not Have Had Lou Gehrig's Disease

Study: ALS is sometimes misdiagnosed

(Newser) - A new study has found that some patients diagnosed with ALS actually suffered from a different fatal disease that affects the central nervous system—and implies that Lou Gehrig himself may not have had ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The study's review of the spinal cords of three...

Dying Doc: Don't Keep Me Alive
Dying Doc:
Don't Keep
Me Alive
OPINION

Dying Doc: Don't Keep Me Alive

ALS patient explains why he chooses quality of life over quantity

(Newser) - Martin Welsh considers himself a lucky man, with a loving family and innumerable friends. “Life has been truly wonderful,” the 55-year-old doctor writes in the Los Angeles Times. But soon, that life will end, and he doesn’t want his doctors to do anything to prolong it. Welsh...

MLB Fetes Gehrig's 'Luckiest Man' Speech at 70

(Newser) - Major League Baseball will honor the 70th anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s “luckiest man” retirement speech tomorrow, part of a campaign against the disease that now bears his name, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. “It’s one of the great moments in American sports and, arguably, American popular culture,...

Antibiotic May Buy Time for Treating Stroke Victims

Patients who receive acne drug in first 23 hours show 'dramatic' improvement

(Newser) - An antibiotic commonly used to treat acne has shown promise in helping stroke victims recover. Patients who got minocycline within a day of their stroke fared markedly better than those who did not, a discovery that could open the critical window for treating stroke victims from just 3 hours to...

13 Stories