Introduction: 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.
Aim: To analysis how literature, cinema and television have addressed ALS.
Development: 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.
Title: La esclerosis lateral amiotrofica en la literatura, el cine y la television.
Introduccion. La esclerosis lateral amiotrofica (ELA) es una enfermedad neurodegenerativa de curso progresivo que afecta a las motoneuronas corticoespinales y medulares, y que se manifiesta principalmente con debilidad muscular, amiotrofia e hiperreflexia. Su incidencia es de 0,4-2,4 casos/100.000 habitantes/año, y su prevalencia, de 4-6 casos/100.000 habitantes. Es mas frecuente en varones adultos mayores de 50 años. Se han mostrado diversas enfermedades neurologicas en la literatura, el cine y la television, entre ellas la ELA, que se ha presentado de forma correcta y realista. Objetivo. Analizar el abordaje que la literatura, el cine y la television han hecho de la ELA. Desarrollo. Existen diversas obras literarias que abordan la ELA, como El desencuentro, Lou Gehrig: the luckiest man o Martes con mi viejo profesor; el cine tambien ha reflejado esta enfermedad en titulos como El orgullo de los Yankees, My love beside me (closer to Heaven) o Derecho a morir; y en la television se ha mostrado esta enfermedad en series, documentales y telefilmes, como Martes con mi viejo profesor, Jenifer o Mi vida con Lou Gehrig. La mayor parte de las obras es de tipo biografico y de testimonio, y muestra la enfermedad con realismo, con la intencion de dar a conocer la ELA y de concienciar a la poblacion. Conclusion. La literatura, el cine y la television han mostrado la ELA de forma realista y creible, a diferencia de otras enfermedades de origen neurologico.