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Updated 23 Jan 08
ALS and the WARRIOR ARCHETYPE: STUDIES
A Supporting Proposition: ALS is associated with the warrior archetype of de-voted physical action, that is, with the warrior morphic/memory field.
The evidence, which includes both warriors on the battlefield and on the athletic field, is based on several scientific studies plus what we are calling "Informal Studies of Famous People."
Scientific Studies
1. ALS is more common in men , by a factor of at least 2:1. (Perhaps the corresponding dis-ease that is more common in women and that also affects movement is the auto-immune dis-ease, multiple sclerosis. Both ALS and MS manifest at about the same frequency of about 5,000 new cases per year in the US of each dis-ease.)
2. Men who were veterans of W.W.I, W.W.II, the Korean War and the Vietnam war had a 1.5 increased risk of dying from ALS (Harvard cohort study of over 500,000 men; the journal Neurology, March, 2005).
The increased risk of ALS was: (a) the same whichever military service the veteran had been in: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, or Coast Guard, but not for the Marines and (b) largely independent of the number of years served in the military.
However, the risk of ALS increased steadily with the number of periods of war during a persons period of military service.
These findings argue against the role of unknown environmental factors specific to the Gulf War period.
3. Gulf War veterans were roughly twice as likely to get ALS as non Gulf War veterans. This varied by service: Air Force Gulf War veterans about 2.7 times that of non Gulf War veterans; Army Gulf War veterans about 2 times that of non Gulf War veterans; Navy and Marine Gulf War veterans about the same rate as of non Gulf War veterans.
The study concluded "the observed incidence of ALS in young Gulf War veterans exceeded the expected, suggesting a war-related environmental trigger." (The journal Neurology, 2003.)
4. Italian professional soccer players contracted ALS at a rate 6.5 times as great as the general population. The increased risk was also dose-related: the longer an athlete played, the greater his risk of contracting ALS. Moreover, the mean age at which the athletes developed ALS was 43 years, twenty years younger than the general population. (The journal Brain, March, 2005.)
5. ALS was more common in men who had been thin (2.21 times), and in men who had been varsity athletes (1.70 times). (The journal Neurology, 2002.) In contrast, a recent Dutch study showed that increased physical or athletic activity is not a risk factor for ALS. (The journal Neurology, March, 2005.)
6. In two studies, airline pilots had about a two-fold risk of developing or dying from ALS. (Increased rates of ALS have also been reported in electrical utility workers.)
Some Generalizations from the Scientific Studies:
For both warriors on the battlefield and warriors on the athletic field the risk of ALS was: (a) "dose related" and (b) associated with an earlier onset. Veterans who served during more than one war period and the longer playing Italian professional soccer players had higher ALS risks. In both the Gulf War veterans and the Italian professional soccer players the mean age of onset of ALS was earlier than in the general population.
Both the Harvard and the Gulf War veterans studies suggest a "war-related environmental trigger." The Italian professional soccer players are apparently experiencing this war-related environmental trigger on the athletic field at about six times the expected rate.
Rates of ALS in Selected Warrior Populations
Just as more Type A personality traits increase the risk of heart disease, it is likely that highly selected populations of warriors would show higher rates of ALS.
For example, it is relatively easy to become a veteran of World War II, the Korean, Vietnam or Gulf wars, and their rate of ALS is about 1.5 - 2 times the expected rate. Similarly, the rate of ALS of varsity athletes is about 1.7 times the expected rate.
Italian professional soccer players are a much more highly selected warrior population, and their rate of ALS is about six times the expected rate. American NFL football players are perhaps an even more highly selected warrior population, and their rate of ALS is reported to be about 40 times the expected rate.
Excluding Plausible Physical Factors in ALS Warrior Populations
ALS is more prevalent in warriors on the battlefield and in warriors on the athletic field, and some plausible physical factors that could account for these increased rates of ALS have been excluded.
The increased rate of ALS in Gulf War veterans suggested an environmental toxin, but because veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars also show increased rates of ALS, an editorial in the journal Neurolgy in 2005 suggested, "...that the increased risk of ALS in Gulf War veterans reported in earlier studies is not due to an environmental exposure specific to the Gulf War."
As to the increased rate of ALS in athletes (varsity athletes, Italian professional soccer players and American NFL football players), the study by Veldink et al, 2005 in Neurology concluded, "There is no association between physical activity and the risk of developing ALS." Similarly, the study by Valenti et al 2005 found that sports-related traumas were not associated with an increased risk of ALS.
The recent article by Abel, cited below, gives a more complete discussion of the issues of physical activity and sports-related trauma. His article concludes with ...(As to the etiology of ALS) "Trauma is another obvious possibility, especially in the context of sports like football. Although trauma was suggested as a cause of ALS almost 100 years ago (Woods, 1911), pertinent studies have been inconclusive (Riggs, 1996). Were physical trauma a contributing factor, one would expect a relatively high prevalence of ALS among boxers and wrestlers. However, only one professional boxer (Ezzard Charles) is known to have had ALS.
Given the results of the present study, coupled with the results from the study of Italian soccer players, there may be a link between ALS and certain sports that warrants attention."
Informal Studies of Famous People
These informal studies, although not definitive, are consistent with the scientific studies, and they suggest that the warrior archetype is associated with ALS and the statesman archetype with Parkinson's dis-ease - the other neurological dis-ease of aging that affects movement.
The studies speak to the question, "who's getting what dis-ease" and they provide some background on these famous people including group membership. The lists include all famous people with the dis-eases that we know of from general knowledge and from searching the net.
Famous American Men having ALS:
Warriors on the Athletic Field
- Lou Gehrig - the Iron Horse of Baseball. Born in New York City and played for the New York Yankees. Retired from baseball in Yankee Stadium in a poignant ceremony on July 4, 1939, in which he described himself as the "luckiest man on the face of the earth." In the US, his name is associated with the ALS dis-ease.
- Jimmy "Catfish" Hunter, a pitcher, was the other famous professional baseball player to get ALS. Born in Hertford, NC, he played for the Oakland A's and then, like Gehrig for the NY Yankees. He went straight from high school to the major leagues, and he also pitched a perfect game. At age 32 he developed Type I insulin dependent diabetes the month after a bizarre near death experience in his hometown.
- Ezzard
Charles - Heavyweight boxing champion (the brain trauma from boxing could an extenuating circumstance).
- George Yardley - NBA basketball player for Detroit Pistons; first to score 2,000 points in one season (1957-58); died at age 75 in Aug. 2004.
- Professional Golfer, Jeff Julian (born in Portland ME and played golf in Vermont).
- Bruce Edwards, long time caddy for professional golfer, Tom Watson; born in Hartford, CT
- Lt. Colonel (ret) Brett A Hyde -The US Air Force's Athlete of the Year in 1988 who completed three Olympic trials in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Including several professional football players
- Three members of the San Francisco 49'ers from the 1960's:
- Bob Waters, quarterback ; from Sylvania, Georgia, played for Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina
- Gary Lewis, fullback; played for Arizona State
- Matt Hazeltine, linebacker; 13-year veteran, played more seasons as linebacker than any other 49'er
- Pete Duranko, former Notre Dame and Denver Bronco football player (lineman) from Johnstown, PA
- Glenn Montgomery - former defensive tackle for the Houston Oilers and the Seattle Sea Hawks; played for the University of Houston and later lived in Houston. From Harvey LA.
- Bob Hohn - Cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers 1965-70; from Nebraska and co-captain of U. of Nebraska football team.
- Steve Smith -
Fullback for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (7 years) and the Seattle Seahawks (2 years);
from Clinton, Maryland; played for Penn State. (Thought also to have Lyme disease, but as of Nov. 2004 he had not improved after intensive anti-Lyme treatment.)
Now living in the Washington DC area.
- Bob Basten - Played for the Minnesota Vikings for one season in 1982 as a defensive end on the practice squad. He later became CEO of his own multi-million dollar accounting firm; from Minnesota.
- (At least two Canadian professional football players, Jim Coode and Larry Uteck, also died of ALS.)
- Pete Demmerle -All-American wide receiver at Notre Dame in the 1970's; was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 1975, but because of a knee injury in his last college game, opted for law school; from New Caanan, CT.
- DeDe Moore - an outstanding high-school quarterback from Pasadena, CA; played for Washington State; signed with the Philadelphia Eagles but a pre-season injury cut short his pro career.
- Charlie Wedemeyer - played football for Michigan State; football coach
extraordinaire; from Hawaii.
Warriors on the Battlefield
- General Maxwell Taylor -West Point Graduate, became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- Lt. General (ret) Paul E Stein - Graduate of and later Superintendent of the US Air Force Academy.
- Major Michael Donnelly, Retired Air Force Gulf War veteran whose book, Falcon's Cry, helped break the ALS Gulf War story; from South Windsor, CT.
Others
- Senator Jacob Javits from New York (also an avid tennis player)
- Henry Wallace - Vice President of the United States in the Roosevelt
administration
- William Keough - US Representative to the UN and former Iranian hostage
- Charles Mingus - Jazz composer and bassist
- Huddie Ledbetter ("Leadbelly") - American folksinger and
"King of the 12-string guitar"
- Dennis Day - Singer, television personality on the Jack Benny Program
and former Mouseketeer
- Morrie Schwartz , Ph.D. - Professor of Sociology and subject of the
book Tuesdays with Morrie
- Hal Boyle - Journalist
- Jon Stone -Emmy award winning writer, producer and director. First
head writer for Sesame Street , and then writer, producer and
director for 24 years
- Michael Zaslow - Emmy Award winning actor, long a favorite on daytime television.
- Lane Smith - Actor
Of these 32 American men having ALS, 21 or 65% qualify as warriors on the athletic or battle-field. Under the broader definition of devoted physical action, the musicians and theater people would also qualify as warriors.
It is unclear why so many of the athletes are football players, but not baseball, basketball, or tennis players.
Other Very Famous Non-American Men having ALS
- Stephen Hawking - British theoretical physicist; very unusual case in terms of his continuing to survive for more than 40 years.
- Dimitri Shostakovich -Russian composer
- Mao Tse Tung -Revolutionary warrior and leader of China (ALS reported in biography written by his personal physician)
- David Niven -British actor (also did competitive sailing)
- Cyril Cussak - Irish actor
Famous People Having Parkinson's Dis-ease
Parkinson's is the other neurological dis-ease of aging that affects movement. It is at least ten times more frequent than ALS, and does not have as clear cut increased frequency in men as does ALS.
- Pope John Paul II
- Rev. Billy Graham, Evangelist
- President Harry Truman
- Francisco Franco, Spanish Dictator
- Adolph Hitler, Nazi German Dictator
- Pierre Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada
- Claiborne Pell, former US Senator from RI (the Pell student grants)
- Mo Udall, former US Representative from AZ (Parkinson's need not affect your sense of humor. Udall once said "When I die, I hope it is in Chicago so that I can still remain active in politics.")
- Janet Reno, former Attorney General
- Manfred Rommel, the former Buergermeister (mayor) of Stuttgart, Germany for 20 years. (His father was Erwin Rommel -"The Desert Fox", the German general poisoned by the Nazis.)
- Michael J Fox, actor. He is the celebrity who is spearheading the search for a cure for Parkinson's dis-ease.
- Terry Thomas, actor
- Johnny Cash, Country western singer
- General Douglas MacArthur
- Mohammed Ali (the brain trauma from boxing could an extenuating circumstance) Ali would be both a warrior and a social/cultural leader.
- John Walker, world-class long distance runner from New Zealand; 1st to break 3:50 in the mile.
- Fidel Castro is rumored to have Parkinson's. Like Mao Tse Tung who had ALS, Castro would be a revolutionary warrior and political leader.
- Katherine Hepburn was thought to have a familial tremor that was not typically Parkinson's.
Of the 16 men on this list, at most four qualify as warriors--MacArthur, Ali, Walker and maybe Castro. MacArthur is the lone military person, and Ali and Walker, the only two athletes.
The list contains more political, religious or social leaders, that is, those of the statesman archetype.
In this connection, at an International Symposium on Parkinson's dis-ease held in Tokyo Japan in August, 2000, "Abraham Lieberman lectured about the many well known people who who have Parkinson's. He stated that a question arises as to whether this is a chance phenomena. Parkinson's is a disease of older people, a certain percentage of older people will have become famous (or infamous) before or shortly after they develop Parkinson's. Examining people who were Time Magazine's MAN OF THE YEAR, 7% of these famous people had Parkinson's, 7 times higher than would be expected by chance."
Another consequence of these Informal Studies of Famous People is that the glutamate synapse of ALS would be associated with the warrior archetype, and the dopamine synapse of Parkinson's dis-ease with the statesman archetype. And in terms of healing, different "synapse places" would correspond to different synapses.
Do American football players have an increased rate of ALS?
We have found eleven cases of ALS in NFL, or almost NFL, American football players who played from the mid 1960's through the mid 1990's. This putative excess of ALS was not found in professional baseball, basketball, golf, or tennis players.
The study of Italian professional soccer players that found a six fold increased rate of ALS was based on 18 cases in more than 7,000 players over a roughly 30 year period. This is equivalent to nine cases per 3,500 players. A three fold increased rate of ALS corresponds to nine cases in the original 7,000 players.
In comparison, if there were about 3,500 NFL players during a 30 year period, the nine NFL cases would also correspond to a six fold increased rate of ALS in NFL football players; if there were 7,000 NFL players in the study period, the increased rate would be three fold; if there were about 10,000 NFL players in the study period, the increased rate would be about two fold - about the same as in Gulf War veterans; if there were at most 14,000 NFL players during the study period, the increased rate would be about 1.5 times - about the same as in the recent longitudinal Harvard veterans study.
(League expansion during the 1970's-90's makes it difficult to know the total number of NFL players.)
Another argument is based on the annual incidence of ALS.
The annual incidence of ALS is at most 2 cases per 100,000 people per year. Over a 30-year period, that incidence would produce at most 60 cases of ALS per 100,000 people.
For a sample of, say 7,000 people, over a 30-year period, one would expect 60 cases times 7,000/100,000 or about 4.2 cases. We found at least double that number in the NFL players from the mid-1960's to the mid-1990's.
This question deserves immediate systematic study.
Since we did the above work in 2005, a recent study by Abel has shown that ALS is more prevalent in American professional (NFL) football players:
"Football increases the risk for Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" by Abel E.L., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, USA, in Perceptual Motor Skills 2007 Jun; 104(3 Pt 2):1251-4. Abstract: A recent report of a six-fold increase in prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease, in soccer players prompted a similar investigation in National Football League players in the United States. Using the internet, a retrospective analysis indicated 8 of the 3,891 players who played or debuted after 1960 had ALS, a prevalence of 206 per 100,000, a 40-fold higher prevalence rate than the rate of 5 per 100,000 in the general U.S. population (p<.001, binomial theorem). While no etiology for ALS has been established, the very high rate associated with professional football warrants further examination.
A recent study also found a small cluster of ALS in a group of amateur soccer players in southern England:
"Three soccer playing friends with simultaneous amyotrophic lateral sclerosis," by Wicks P, Ganesalingham J, Collin C, Prevett M, Leigh NP, Al-Chalabi A; MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology. London. Crespigny Park, in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 2007 Jun; 8(3):177-9. Abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease of largely unknown cause, predominantly affecting upper and lower motor neurons. A recent study in Italy suggested an increased incidence of ALS among professional Italian soccer players. We report a cluster of three amateur league soccer players who were friends from the same part of southern England, and developed ALS simultaneously. This might suggest that keen amateur soccer players are also at risk.