[RaveOn]

“The numbers are meaningless unless compared to general populations. They may or may not be significant.”

Here’s where they give it away:

“Dozens of them could develop Lou Gehrig’s or Parkinson’s disease.”

Isn’t ALS a genetic disease? How would somebody catch it from playing football?

[thesharkboy]

Isn’t ALS a genetic disease? How would somebody catch it from playing football?

Hard hits can cause gene mutations.

[VanShuyten]

The root cause of ALS and Parkinson’s is unknown. There seems to be a genetic predisposition for Parkinson’s, and repeated blows to the head, as in boxing, can cause a Parkinson’s-type neuromuscular syndrome, but as of now, the cause of the disappearance of dopaminergic cells in Parkinson’s and the spinal motor neurons in ALS is unknown. Blows to the head don’t seem to be connected with ALS.

[dennisw]

Lou Gehrig did not have Lou Gehrig’s disease. Just want to clear this up.