Lou Gerig

Mon Aug 26, 2002

By Keith Mulvihill

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers from the National Institutes of Health believe that a study in mice that identified abnormalities in lipid, or fat, metabolism may shed light on how the motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease, develops.

The findings may one day lead to new therapies that could delay the progression of the fatal disease, explained lead researcher Dr. Mark K.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with a history of on-the-job exposure to the heavy metal lead may be at twice the risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which strikes about 1 or 2 in every 100,000 people in the United States. ALS is often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famed New York Yankees baseball player who died from the disease in 1941 at the age of 38.