10 Common Brain Diseases

10. Lou Gehrig's Disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the medical name of Lou Gehrig's disease. The name of this diseases refers to Lou Gehrig who was a famous baseball player in the 1930's. Gehrig suffered from muscle atrophy. Lou Gehrig's disease is a neurodegenerative disease, which affects the brain and spinal cord, specifically the sections of nerve cells, which signal and controls muscles. The motor neurons die, and the nerve area scars or hardens, which is where sclerosis comes from. Sporadic ALS is the most common form of the disease with up to 90% of cases diagnosed, and familial ALS, which counts for 5-10%.