title: [Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in literature, cinema and television].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a progressive course that affects the corticospinal and spinal cord motor neurons, the main manifestations of which are muscular weakness, amyotrophy and hyperreflexia. It has an incidence of 0.4-2.4 cases/100,000 inhabitants/year, and a prevalence of 4-6 cases/100,000 inhabitants. It is more frequent in adult males over 50 years of age. A number of different neurological diseases have been portrayed in literature, cinema and television, including ALS, which has been presented correctly and realistically.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analysis how literature, cinema and television have addressed ALS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Several different literary works have dealt with ALS, such as El desencuentro, Lou Gehrig: the luckiest man or Tuesdays with Morrie; the cinema has also depicted this disease in films such as The pride of the Yankees, My love beside me (closer to Heaven) or Right to die; and on television this disease has been shown in series, documentaries and television films, such as: Tuesdays with Morrie, Jenifer or A love affair: the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story. Most of the works are of a biographical and testimonial nature, and portray the disease realistically, with the intention of making ALS more widely known and raising the population's awareness about the condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Literature, cinema and television have portrayed ALS in a realistic and believable manner, unlike some other diseases of a neurological origin.
authors: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28922 Madrid, Espana.
authors: Susana
authors: S
authors: Collado-Vázquez
authors: Jesús María
authors: JM
authors: Carrillo
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000523:psychology; D004324:Drama / Q000266:history; D005197:Famous Persons; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D009040:Motion Pictures / Q000266:history*; D013690:Television / Q000266:history*