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Could "the luckiest man on the face of the earth" been afflicted with a disease besides the one that would come to bear his name?An academic paper set to be published Wednesday hints that athletes like New York Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig may have been given the wrong diagnosis, The New York Times reports. Instead of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- the name of the ailment commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease -- the late Yankees first baseman may have been one of many athletes cut down by a series of concussions.
Gehrig's name doesn't appear in article in the Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology, although the study's authors told the newspaper that a series of concussions by the late ballplayer may have led to his neurological symptoms.
"Here he is, the face of his disease, and he may have had a different disease as a result of his athletic experience," Dr. Ann McKee, the director of the neuropathology laboratory for the New England Veterans Administration Medical Centers, and the lead neuropathologist on the study, told the newspaper.
At least three athletes -- two deceased NFL players and one dead boxer -- were wrongly diagnosed with ALS. Research into the brains of the deceased athletes showed signs of concussion trauma that likely caused their central nervous system to erode, according to doctors at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bedford, Mass., and the Boston University School of Medicine.
Researchers previously found a link between on-field trauma and dementia in some former NFL players. Ann McKee, the director of the neuropathology lab at the New England Veterans Administration Medical Centers, has identified 14 former NFL players since 1960 given an ALS diagnosis -- a rate eight times higher than the general population.
Another 12 NFL players, all deceased, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive disorder that results in cognitive impairment and dementia.
"Obviously he played in the days before helmets, and he led with his head and with his shoulders, certainly on the football field," said Gehrig biographer Jonathan Eig told The Times. "On the baseball field, he got knocked around a bit because he could be klutzy. Given the barnstorming he did in the offseason and his football career and style, there's no telling how many additional shots to the head he took."
HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel explores a new discovery that links brain injuries suffered on the athletic field and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Click below to watch a clip, and tune in at 10 PM ET/PT Tuesday night.
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