Key Takeaways on ALS, or Stephen Hawking's Condition:
ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Stephen Hawking lived with ALS for 55 years and advocated for research and helped bring awareness to the disease.
ALS is fatal, and impacts a person's ability to talk, eat, walk, and breath. Progress for treatment includes a genetic treatment, Qalsody, that was approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023.
In 1939, Lou Gehrig, the first baseman for the New York Yankees, shocked the baseball world when he benched himself mid-season after playing 2,130 consecutive games. Though he'd had a stellar season the year prior, something was different. He didn't know it quite yet, but he was beginning to experience the symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Doctors diagnosed Gherig on his 36th birthday, and he passed away just before his 38th.
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1963. However, doctors were still unsure what caused the disease and if there were any possible treatments. Hawking's doctors gave him about two years to live, however, he lived with the disease for 55 years.
