preview

CTE And ALS Essay

Better Essays

ALS and CTE are much more than just the Ice Bucket Challenge or being hit in the head. ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which affects the brain and spinal cord. Similarly, CTE is a brain disease caused by brain trauma. CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Both ALS and CTE are caused by head trauma and concussions. A concussion is a temporary unconsciousness because of a blow to the head. Athletes have the highest risk of being diagnosed with these diseases because have a higher chance of a of hitting their head because of the physical activities. It is not fair for athletes to have to face those challenges but, at the end of the day one has the choice of taking the risks while being an athlete. Even if one does the Ice Bucket Challenge ten times it still will not be anywhere close to what actually having ALS feels like. ALS is also known as the Lou Gehrig disease, Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS on his 36th birthday. Lou was a professional baseball player and played for the New York Yankees. After retiring in 1939 he became a parole officer and later passed away in 1941, two years after being diagnosed. When someone has ALS their nerve cells slowly die in their …show more content…

They are linked not only by the fact that athletes have a higher risk of being diagnosed with these diseases but, also by the fact that ALS is also known as the Lou Gehrig disease because he was a famous baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS. Lou is not the only professional athlete that was diagnosed with ALS. John Grimsley was a professional American football player, died by an accidental gunshot although, after death he was diagnosed with CTE due to his football career. Tony Dorsett has been suffering from symptoms of CTE since 2013 and still is. Some symptoms Dorsett has been experiencing are memory loss and behavior changes mood wise. Dorsett also has symptoms of

Get Access