ALS: The disease that Stephen Hawking defied for decades

British physicist Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous sufferers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the fatal neurological disease that paralysed his body but did nothing to curb his contribution to science. The rare condition normally claims the lives of those who have it within two to three years of diagnosis, making Hawking's five-decade fight to overcome the disease an extraordinary exception. The neurodegenerative condition attacks the motor nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, hampering their ability to communicate with muscles and control voluntary movements, leading to eventual paralysis.

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