Background of famous diseases through name marks

Everyone wants to leave a mark on history. The same is true in medicine, in particular, famous, incurable diseases that have been brought along by the names of those who invented, or suffered from the disease for the first time.

first.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) causes nerves in the brain and spinal cord to die gradually. Over time, it can deprive you of your ability to walk, write, eat, speak, swallow, breathe and shorten your life. Floating ALS patient is British scientist Stephen Hawking but he lives longer with this disease for more than half a century, although most live only 2-3 years after the discovery of the disease. ALS was named after American baseball player Lou Gehrig. On his 36th birthday, Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS, causing his body to gradually become paralyzed and only survive for 2 more years, leaving on 2 June 1941. Before long, Lou Gehrig was nicknamed 'iron horse' on the baseball field but soon after suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease suddenly faded.

Lou Gehrig baseball player.

Gehrig's debilitating condition is getting worse. Gehrig underwent 6 days of testing and found the disease on the 36th birthday. Doctors predict that Gehrig will quickly become paralyzed, have trouble swallowing, have difficulty speaking and do not live for more than 3 years. ALS has no cure, because the cause is still unknown. It does not cause pain or spread but is toxic in that the motor function of the central nervous system is destroyed but the patient is still aware of the final moment. Before his illness, Lou Gehrig was in great health but only two years of illness, Lou Gehrig's health deteriorated to the point of not signing.

Two days after the disease was public, Gehrig had retired from the pitch. In 1940, Gehrig tried in vain to prevent the disease from progressing, taking many treatments such as injections and taking vitamin E but not working. On the night of June 2, 1941, Gehrig left at his home and his name was used to set this mysterious disease. According to the ALS Texas Association, the disease was first diagnosed in 1869 by Jean Martin Charcot, but it was not recognized until 1939, when Lou Gehrig revealed his diagnosis to world opinion.

It must be said that Lou Gehrig's disease has gone on for more than 7 decades but medicine has yet to find the cause or treatment. The diagnosis is not simple because symptoms are not clear unless severe. In the United States, many ALS patients voiced their support for humanitarian death to be released quietly.

2. Asperger syndrome

Asperger (AS, Asperger disorder or Aspergers) is a development disorder syndrome . When people get sick, they encounter many obstacles due to impaired communication skills, especially body language, but they have advantages in other areas such as awareness, self-observation, attention or memory. Asperger syndrome was discovered in 1944 by Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, in his study, Hans Asperger described some boys with normal intelligence and developmental language but lack of communication skills. Today, doctors often mention less than Aspergers but Autism Spectrum Disorder instead.

Hans Asperger and patients with autism spectrum disorder.

The story about the disease with the name of an Austrian doctor is also very thrilling. That said, a pediatric psychologist in Vienna worked with a group of boys, all of whom had differences in development to serve research under Nazi funding. Rumor has it, Asperger has protected children with disabilities and saved their lives, but in an interview with Vox magazine, historian Edith Sheffer revealed the cruel truth. Asperger himself recruited these children to carry out the research called the euthanasia Program backed by the Nazis.

For his part, Asperger declared himself not a member of the Nazi Party, and he himself saved these children from being killed in a dangerous research mission done by Nazi Germany. However, Asperger sent dozens of autistic children to Nazi research centers, and Asperger's participation in the study of the disease as well as the euthanasia Program (Program for terminally ill patients to die quietly) Gentle, painless death or death) mentioned by history is unacceptable. According to historian Edith Sheffer, who just published the latest study in 2018 about Asperger, adding that in addition to cooperating with the Nazis in the euthanasia Program, Asperger was also rewarded by Nazi Germany for loyalty. career, having participated in NSDAP, publicly legalized sanitation policies, including forced sterilization in women times men.

3. Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's (PD) belongs to the group of movement disorders with specific features of muscle stiffness, tremor, posture and irregular gait, slow movement and in severe cases, patients may lose some motor functions. physical. In addition, there is also a state of stimulant depletion in the cortex of the control domain of the basal ganglia. Usually, this involves a reduction in the formation and production of dopamine in the dopaminergic neuron of the midbrain (substantia nigra). Additional symptoms such as high-level cognitive dysfunction appear and subtle language problems. PD is a spontaneous chronic disease, or in the secondary case, the cause may be due to the toxicity of some drugs, head injury, or other medical disorders.

Doctor James Parkinson.

The disease is named after a British pharmacist, James Parkinson . It is mentioned in detail by the author in the essay entitled An Essay on the Shaking Palsy published in 1817. It was described by James Parkinson as 'polio' after he studied six infected and hopeless individuals. someday it will be cured. Although Parkinson's contributions to science and medicine are huge, but at the same time, political contributions, especially his radical political views, are known to the public more than in medicine. Parkinson is a straightforward supporter of pacifism, suffrage and social reform, and believes that the British parliament needs a boost to develop to change the society to make people's lives more prosperous. .

Parkinson's reputation as a member of the London Corresponding Society (LCS) became noisy when the British government discovered a plot to assassinate King George III with Parkinson's involvement. Parkinson was questioned and charged for being involved in the plot, although Parkinson was very busy preaching the values ​​of pacifism. In the end, Parkinson was declared acquittal because of no evidence, and also from here, Parkinson's political activities became diminished, Parkinson spent the rest of his life focusing on scientific research.

4. Down syndrome

Down Syndrome is an inherited disorder that occurs when abnormal cell division leads to the addition of one or a copy of chromosome 21 or can be simplified, Down is a syndrome due to mutation of chromosome number, an excess of chromosome 21 with the incidence of 1/800 - 1,000 newborn babies. Normally, humans have 46 chromosomes, exist in pairs in the cell nucleus. Half inherited from her father, and half from her mother, with Down's children alone had 47 chromosomes, this excess was broken by normal development, resulting in a lifetime intellectual disability. , growth retardation and other biological abnormalities, including heart disease and digestive system.

John Langdon Down.

Down syndrome is named after John Langdon Down, an English physician, who discovered the disease in 1866. According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), at the age of 18, entered a dinner Rainstorm, John Langdon Down is looking for shelter near a farm. While staying in the rain, an unknown girl Down who has never met appears and helps. Despite being kind, the girl acted strangely, hitting Down, which made him unable to understand, especially the health of the girl. With the intention of understanding the cause of this strange disease, it urged Down to become a doctor.

He and his colleagues took over Earlswood Asylum for Idiots refugee camp to manage more than 400 patients. Due to poor facilities, poor hygiene leads to many patients getting infections, sometimes abused by employees. With the determination to reform the camp, Down has introduced many new measures, banning corporal punishment, focusing on improving the quality of life and crafting for the campers. John Langdon Down is not only a manager, but also a psychiatrist, a psychologist, an excellent social counselor, who directly researches and heals many people in the camp. According to the Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability (LMLD) Museum, in 1860, Down discovered the disease of the girl he met on the night of the stormy storm in his youth, which is Down syndrome, and round 100 years later, the base This disease was officially named after him, Down Syndrome.