Is there new hope for ALS?

I was talking with the party hostess when her mom and stepdad arrived. At first, from across the room, I noticed nothing odd -- Stepdad walked with a cane, but that's not out of the ordinary. His wife settled him in a chair right near the door. Then I noticed he was wearing a collar to hold his neck in place. Had he been in an accident? "What's wrong with M?" I whispered to my friend.

"He's dying," she replied quietly. "He has Lou Gehrig's disease." Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis currently has no cure and sentences the person who has it to a life of increasing disability. Some, like famed physicist Stephen Hawking, manage to continue functioning for many years and even remain productive with the help of adaptive equipment.  Others, like my friend's stepdad, go downhill fast.

ALS -- popularly named after Gehrig, the ballplayer who was one of its better-known victims --  is a frightening and often tragic prospect for patients and their families. Today there are several treatments being tested, along with research to find genetic clues and learn more about the mechanism that causes this condition. OrganizedWisdom has gathered the best ALS resources to help you better understand the disease.

Check out the ALS WisdomCard

Photo by ewen and donabel of Gehrig's locker, on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.