There's no cure for ALS, the disease former 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark recently revealed he's battling. There's no way to even diagnose it.
That's done by eliminating maladies with similar symptoms -- Lyme disease and B12 deficiency, for example -- until it's clear amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is the underlying cause.
But there are reasons for hope. Awareness and funding are at all-time highs thanks in part to scientific breakthroughs and to interest generated by the ice-bucket challenge of 2014 and by former New Orleans Saints safety Steve Gleason, a tireless champion for ALS research.
Gleason, 40, already was the Saints' version of Clark in that he was central to that franchise's most iconic play, a blocked punt in the first quarter of a game in 2006, the Saints' first in the New Orleans Superdome since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.