Lou Gehrig

Of all the CALebrations last week, none was more touching than the creation of a Cal Ripken Jr./Lou Gehrig Fund to finance research at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions on the degenerate nerve disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, that killed the legendary Yankee player more than half a century ago. The Orioles under owner Peter Angelos conceived the plan to sell 260 field-level seats at $5,000 apiece to raise $1.3 million. Then the baseball club promised to kick in another $700,000 to push the fund to the $2 million mark.

Writer Dudley Clendinen is a gifted raconteur, weaving his stories in a soft Southern accent and with a courtly manner. It is easy to imagine him captivating dinner guests until long after the candles have burned down. It is a savage irony, then, that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is taking his voice first when it might have chosen his limbs instead. It was slurred speech that gave Clendinen, 66, the first hint of trouble. A former national reporter and editorial writer for The New York Times who also worked for The Baltimore Sun, he had settled here to write books and teach.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. William H. Natcher is the Lou Gehrig of Congress -- and there's no Cal Ripken in sight. The congressman's iron-man streak of 18,397 straight House votes began in 1953 and has never been equaled.But the 84-year-old Kentucky Democrat was granted a favor by his colleagues yesterday that Mr. Ripken will never get: Play was suspended because Mr. Natcher was too ill to take the field.In a gesture so extraordinary that Speaker Thomas S. Foley of Washington could not recall anything like it happening before, the House granted Mr. Natcher's request to postpone yesterday's scheduled votes so that the hospitalized congressman could undergo medical treatment for what he called an "intestinal problem."

Johns Hopkins recently cleared the $200 million mark in grants received as part of federal stimulus spending, demonstrating that not even a deep recession could choke the university's ability to attract research money. The Johns Hopkins University recently cleared the $200 million mark in grants received as part of federal stimulus spending, demonstrating that not even a deep recession could choke its ability to attract research money. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave $12.4 billion to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation for grants to be distributed between February 2009 and September 2010.

In a lustrous finale to one of the most fervid hunts in biology, scientists have discovered the gene behind Lou Gehrig's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that results in muscle wasting, paralysis and death.And, although identifying the gene for an illness is usually just the first step in learning how it works and what happens when it goes awry, in this case the long-sought quarry turns out to be one of the most familiar genes. This familiarity means that potential therapies for the disease may be much closer at hand than had been expected.

When veterinarian Peter F. Radue first saw her, the 12-year-old appaloosa was trembling violently in her stall.The horse was clearly uncomfortable. Yet she seemed bright and alert, with a good appetite."

Now the destiny that links Cal Ripken Jr. and the man he is pursuing in the record book, Lou Gehrig, is being perceived on more of a personal basis. But Ripken quickly admits to knowing little about Gehrig, who set the standard for longevity by playing 2,130 consecutive games.Ripken is at 1,573 and counting. It's second highest in the annals of major-league baseball as he mounts the strongest challenge yet to what was considered an unapproachable goal. "All I can tell you is what I remember as a kid when I watched the movie of Gehrig's life on television," says the Baltimore Orioles shortstop.

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to provide full disability payments for Lou Gehrig's disease, tacitly acknowledging for the first time a generalized link between the fatal neurological disorder and military service. Veterans and patient advocates have advocated the change for years, citing studies showing that former soldiers are more likely than the general population to contract the disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The VA already extends full compensation to ALS-stricken veterans of the first Persian Gulf war, who, according to a study earlier this decade, are twice as likely as other service members to contract the disease.

The person considered the strongest Raven by coach John Harbaugh received the game ball after Saturday's AFC divisional playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, even though he didn't take a snap or put on a uniform. In the victorious locker room at LP Field, Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed handed the ball to O.J. Brigance, the Ravens' director of player development, saying, "This is for you." Brigance expressed thanks from the motorized wheelchair that he uses as he battles Lou Gehrig's disease, then added, "but we've got two more to play."

Writer Dudley Clendinen is a gifted raconteur, weaving his stories in a soft Southern accent and with a courtly manner. It is easy to imagine him captivating dinner guests until long after the candles have burned down. It is a savage irony, then, that amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is taking his voice first when it might have chosen his limbs instead. It was slurred speech that gave Clendinen, 66, the first hint of trouble. A former national reporter and editorial writer for The New York Times who also worked for The Baltimore Sun, he had settled here to write books and teach.

Baltimore physician Dr. Larry Egbert is currently awaiting trial in both Arizona and Georgia, accused of assisted suicide. The charges are unfounded. Dr. Egbert, a former Johns Hopkins professor, simply counseled patients with incurable diseases about their options as the end of their lives drew near. By talking to these folks, Dr. Egbert was fulfilling his responsibility as a medical professional. To understand why, consider the plight of those suffering from Alzheimer's.

It's the most recognizable digit in Baltimore. Authorities said that didn't dissuade four young men from ripping Cal Ripken Jr.'s 3 1/2 -foot-tall aluminum number 8 off its base in front of Camden Yards Tuesday night, throwing it into the back of a gray pickup truck and parading it through the city. The men, described in a police report as juiced up on alcohol, apparently got rowdy while stopped on the east side of Patterson Park, and someone called the police to complain. By then, Maryland Stadium Authority guards had flagged down passing police outside the ballpark, and detectives had reviewed a surveillance video showing four young men "pulling and kicking" the sculpture.

Question: : My husband started on lovastatin for high cholesterol and soon began to notice weakness in his right arm. This weakness progressed, so he saw his doctor, thinking he had a pinched nerve. He was referred to a neurologist, who gave him a diagnosis of "possible ALS." On his 60th birthday, a second opinion confirmed the diagnosis of ALS. Since that time, my husband has progressed from weakness in his right arm to complete loss of function in his arms, very weak leg muscles and difficulty breathing.

The person considered the strongest Raven by coach John Harbaugh received the game ball after Saturday's AFC divisional playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, even though he didn't take a snap or put on a uniform. In the victorious locker room at LP Field, Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed handed the ball to O.J. Brigance, the Ravens' director of player development, saying, "This is for you." Brigance expressed thanks from the motorized wheelchair that he uses as he battles Lou Gehrig's disease, then added, "but we've got two more to play."

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to provide full disability payments for Lou Gehrig's disease, tacitly acknowledging for the first time a generalized link between the fatal neurological disorder and military service. Veterans and patient advocates have advocated the change for years, citing studies showing that former soldiers are more likely than the general population to contract the disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The VA already extends full compensation to ALS-stricken veterans of the first Persian Gulf war, who, according to a study earlier this decade, are twice as likely as other service members to contract the disease.

The first time he fell, Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Averella was strolling on a military base in Afghanistan. He got up, collected himself and brushed aside the concerns of fellow soldiers. Within months, Averella was stumbling regularly, and his hands began inexplicably clenching into fists. At first, tests revealed nothing. Three years ago, the Maryland soldier found out what was afflicting him: Lou Gehrig's disease. Once an intense weightlifter, Averella is now bedridden at his Glen Burnie apartment, every part of him dying but his mind.

In 1938, Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disease ALS. He would lose his capacity to walk, talk and swallow. He would die choking as the disease followed its normal, horrific course.His physicians could scarcely imagine what caused it.Now, researchers speak of progress - hints that they can slow the disease's destruction. They do not, however, speak of cures.Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, causes the atrophy and death of specialized nerve cells in the spinal cord that control virtually all the muscles that enable us to move.

LINCOLN, R.I. -- The German television crew has left. Ted Koppel may call at any moment. And the nun is late.Noel David Earley can't remember the nun's name, or where she is from, but she sounded nice on the telephone. He still plans to kill himself -- the nun had no more success talking him out of it than had other callers -- but there was a sweetness about her. When she asked to visit, he agreed.So everyone's waiting -- a documentary film producer working for "Nightline"; a reporter and photographer from the Providence Journal-Bulletin; a reporter from The Sun.This has the promise of a good scene.

O.J. Brigance remembers the 2001 Super Bowl like it was yesterday, when he charged down the field for the Ravens and collided with a kick returner for the first tackle of the game. Now, everyday activities like eating are as challenging as his old workouts. Picking up a fork these days feels like lifting more than a hundred pounds of weights. Brigance, 38, was diagnosed in May 2007 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, a progressive and fatal disease that shuts down nerve cells responsible for movement.