By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – The Mobile Bay area appears to have a higher-than-normal number of cases of Lou Gehrig's disease. The state toxicologist and a local support group are planning to study the issue. Neil Sass of the Alabama Department of Public Health says he wants to interview patients in Mobile and Baldwin Counties and determine whether they share characteristics that might have led to the disease. Sass says the state could also conduct environmental tests to determine possible links. Lou Gehrig's Disease is fatal and incurable. It causes its victims to slowly become paralyzed. The disease got its name from its most famous victim, legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig.