title: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Historical Perspective.
abstract: This article looks back in time to see where the foundational basis for the understanding of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis originated. This foundation was created primarily in France by Jean-Martin Charcot and his fellow countrymen and disciples, along with key contributions from early clinicians in England and Germany. The early work on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis provides a useful foundation for today's clinicians with respect to tying together genetic and biologic aspects of the disorder that have been discovered over the past few decades.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Center, California Pacific Medical Center, 2324 Sacramento Street, Suite 111, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Mail Stop 2012, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA. Electronic address: mdmachkie@kumc.edu.
authors.forename: Mazen M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Dimachkie
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Mail Stop 2012, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Barohn
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000266:history* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans
keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Genotype; Jean-Martin Charcot; Phenotype