# Do they call it "Lou Gehrig's" disease in other countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355 "2003-03-22T13:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/1 "2003-03-22T13:41:30Z")
Stephan Hawking’s disease may be a more international reference. But I remember reading “A Brief History in Time” by Stephan Hawking, and he referred to it as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Of course, Lou Gehrig was a famous baseball player whose stellar career was cut short by his disease of his namesake. Does the name of the former major leaguer transcend national boundaries? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/2 "2003-03-22T13:59:17Z")
No, I think Stephen Hawking had his eye on his international market. In Britain it’s called Motor Neurone Disease. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/3 "2003-03-22T14:10:11Z")
I’ve heard it as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). In Japan it’s known by the direct translation of that term. I’ve heard some people say it will (or should) be known as Hawking’s Disease. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/4 "2003-03-22T14:12:35Z")
Ah, found a [cite](http://www.lougehrigsdisease.net/als_what_is_als.htm): > [@](#): > > ALS is commonly known in the US as Lou Gehrigfs Disease. In England it is known as MND, Motor Neurone Disease. The French refer to ALS as Maladie de Charcot. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/5 "2003-03-23T02:41:43Z")
They call it Lou Gerhig’s disease (also ALS) in Canada ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/6 "2003-03-23T02:57:30Z")
I can report that in Central American countries and other Latin American ones, it is known as “el mal de Gehrig” (The disease of Gehrig). Also known as “distrofia muscular” (Muscular dystrophy). Here is a Venezuelan cite: [http://www.mipunto.com/deportes/beisbol/grandes\_ligas/estrellas\_gehrig.jsp](http://www.mipunto.com/deportes/beisbol/grandes_ligas/estrellas_gehrig.jsp) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/7 "2003-03-23T02:58:53Z")
Aren’t ALS and MS two different diseases? ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/8 "2003-03-23T03:05:30Z")
And the most ironic part of it all is, Lou Gehrig actually caught this and died from it. Never let them name a disease after you! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/9 "2003-03-23T03:21:41Z")
The general tradition in medicine is to name a new disease after the the first diagnosed patient. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/10 "2003-03-23T03:22:09Z")
AFAICR There are several forms of Muscular dystrophy; one of them (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is Gehrig’s disease. As for ALS and MS: [http://www.cnsonline.org/www/archive/ms/ms-04.html](http://www.cnsonline.org/www/archive/ms/ms-04.html) > [@](#): > > ALS, MS, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? > By Charles Plank > A major reason for confusion about two very distinct neurological diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) is the word, “sclerosis,” which literally means hardening (as a result of increased connective tissue or glia). > Other reasons for the confusion are that both diseases are primary neurological diseases, often or usually affecting the spinal cord, and that they typically result in difficulties with gait and strength. An easy way to differentiate between these two is to understand the basic differences in the pathology and the progression of this pathology. > > Multiple sclerosis is a disease of myelin, not primarily of nerve cells. This myelin surrounds the axons, or the long process of the nerve cell. Since myelin occurs throughout the nervous system, lesions can be and typically are at multiple sites. The disease, however, affects only central myelin, not the myelin of peripheral nerves. Therefore, the symptoms are specifically of a central nervous system disorder. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/11 "2003-03-23T03:30:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Aren’t ALS and MS two different diseases? \*\* Yes, completely. (And this is so whether you really meant to type “MS” or “MD”) Muscular Dystrophy (MD) is a not one disease. Rather, it is a group of diseases where the primary problem is in the muscle. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease affecting the myelin (“insulation”) of the white matter (connections) of the brain and spinal cord. ALS is a disease which affects the actual motor nerve cells themselves (i.e. the motor neurons). It also can have some manifestations that resemble those found in MS. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/12 "2003-03-23T03:45:16Z")
Yes, I meant “MD”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/13 "2003-03-23T06:42:05Z")
IANAMP (Medicial Practitioner), but I have seen it referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease here in India in various texts. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/14 "2003-03-23T07:14:01Z")
I sincerely doubt it’ll end up being called Hawking’s Disease. Who remembers who Parkinson was? Nobody. Still has a disease named after him, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/15 "2003-03-23T07:51:21Z")
In The Netherlands we refer to Multiple Sclerosis simply by that name, or abbreviate it to MS. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-they-call-it-lou-gehrigs-disease-in-other-countries/163355/16 "2003-03-23T08:44:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > The general tradition in medicine is to name a new disease after the the first diagnosed patient. But Lou Gehrig was not the first diagnosed with ALS. Furthermore, they sometimes named diseases after the first doctor to describe it in the literature. Hansen’s disease, for example. Nowadays, the rule is to name new diseases after the city or area it was first discovered in. Ebola, for example, is a river in the Congo, hantavirus is named after a river in Korea. Legionaire’s disease is an exception and the American Legion is still (last I heard) trying to get it renamed to something else. But this has drawbacks since they sometimes discover more than one disease in a city. A few years ago, someone found a new strain of some disease (I forget which one) in Chicago. There already was a disease named after Chicago, as well as Illinois, so the discoverer named it after Michael Jordan. This violated the naming rules, but it was accepted before the powers that be realized that.